b 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 
SOCIETIES 



PS2239 
.L  3 
N3 
1835 


This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it  may  be 
renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE 
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OCTJJ  2gy 


DATE 
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:P  2  4  '« 


Digitized  by 

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in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/navalstoriesOOIegg 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00028134448 


NAVAL  STORIES 

PS- 


BY  WILLIAM  LEGGETT. 


I  have  loved  thee,  Ocean  !  and  my  joy 
Of  youthful  sports  was  on  thy  breast  to  be 
Borne,  like  thy  billows,  onwards. 

Byron. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


NEW-YORK: 

G.  &  C.  CARVILL  &  CO 
No.  108  Broadway. 

1835, 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1834,  by 
William  Leggett,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court 
of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


JAMES  VAN  NOitDEN,  PRINTER. 


CONTENTS, 


Page, 

The  Encounter,   9 

A  Night  at  Gibraltar,  . .  33 

Merry  Terry,   61 

The  Mess-Chest,  ,   87 

The  Main  Truck,  or  a  Leap  for  Life,   109 

Fire  and  Water,   127 

Brought  to  the  Gangway,   151 

A  Watch  in  the  Main  Top,,  181 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


A 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


One  universal  shriek  there  rushed, 
Louder  than  the  loud  ocean,  like  a  crash 

Of  echoing  thunder  ;  and  then  all  was  hushed — 
Save  the  wild  wind,  and  the  remorseless  dash 

Of  billows.   Byron. 

The  Active,  Sloop  of  War,  had  been  lying  all 
day  becalmed,  in  mid  ocean,  and  was  rolling  and 
pitching  in  a  heavy  ground  swell,  which  was  the 
only  trace  left  of  the  gale  she  had  lately  encoun- 
tered. The  sky  was  of  as  tender  and  serene  a  blue 
as  if  it  had  never  been  deformed  with  clouds ;  an4 
the  atmosphere  was  bland  and  pleasant,  although 
the  latitude  and  the  season  might  both  have  led  one 
to  expect  different  weather.  Since  the  morning 
watch,  when  the  wind,  after  blowing  straight  an  end 
for  several  days  together,  had  died  suddenly  away, 
there  had  not  been  enough  air  stirring  to  lift  the 
dog-vane  from  its  staff,  down  which  it  hung  in  mo- 
tionless repose,  except  when  raised  by  the  heave  of 
the  vessel,  as  she  laboured  in  the  trough  of  the  sea. 
Her  courses  had  been  hauled  up,  and  she  lay  under 


12 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


her  three  topsails,  braced  on  opposite  tacks*  ready 
to  take  advantage  of  the  first  breath  of  wind,  from 
whatever  quarter  it  might  come. 

The  crew  were  disposed  in  various  groups  about 
the  deck,  some  idling  away  in  listless  ease  the  inter- 
val of  calm;  some,  with  their  clothes-bags  beside 
them,  turning  it  to  account  in  overhauling  their  dun- 
nage; while  others  moved  fidgety  about,  on  the 
forecastle  and  in  the  waist,  eyeing,  ever  and  anon,  the 
horizon  round,  as  if  already  weary  of  their  short 
holiday  on  the  ocean,  and  impatiently  watching  for 
some  sign  of  a  breeze.  To  a  true  sailor  there  are 
few  circumstances  more  annoying  than  a  perfect 
calm.  The  same  principle  of  our  nature  which 
makes  the  traveller  on  land,  though  journeying  with- 
out any  definite  object,  desire  the  postilion  to  whip 
up  his  horses  and  hasten  to  the  end  of  his  stage,  is 
manifested  in  a  striking  degree  among  seamen.  The 
end  of  one  voyage  is  but  the  beginning  of  another, 
and  their  life  is  a  constant  succession  of  hard- 
ships and  perils;  yet  they  "cannot  abide  that  the 
elements  should  grant  them  a  moment's  respite.  As 
the  wind  dies  away  their  spirits  flag ;  they  move 
heavily  and  sluggishly  about  while  the  calm  con- 
tinues ;  but  rouse  at  the  first  whisper  of  the  breeze, 
and  are  never  gayer  or  more  animated  than  when 
their  canvass  swells  out  to  its  utmost  tension  in  the 
gale. 

On  the  afternoon  hi  question,  this  feeling  of  rest- 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


13 


lessness  at  the  continuance  of  the  calm  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  crew  of  the  Active.  Her  commander 
had  been  nearly  all  day  on  deck,  walking  to  and  fro, 
on  the  starboard  side,  with  quick  impatient  strides, 
or  now  stepping  into  one  gangway,  and  now  into  the 
other,  and  casting  anxious  and  searching  looks  into 
all  quarters  of  the  heavens,  as  if  it  were  of  the  ut- 
most consequence  that  a  breeze  should  spring  up  and 
enable  him  to  pursue  his  way.  Indeed  it  was  whis- 
pered among  the  officers,  that  there  were  reasons  of 
state  which  made  it  important  they  should  reach 
their  point  of  destination  as  speedily  as  possible ; 
though  where  that  point  was,  or  what  those  reasons 
were,  not  a  soul  on  board  knew,  except  the  captain — 
and  he  was  not  a  man  likely  to  enlighten  their 
ignorance  on  the  subject.  Few  words,  in  truth,  did 
any  one  ever  hear  from  Black  Jack,  as  the  reefers 
nicknamed  him ;  and  when  he  did  speak,  what  he 
said  was  not  generally  of  a  kind  to  make  them  desire 
he  should  often  break  his  taciturnity. 

He  was  a  straight,  tall,  stern-looking  man,  just 
passed  the  prime  of  life,  as  might  be  inferred  from 
the  wrinkles  on  his  thoughtful  brow,  and  the  slightly 
grizzled  hue  of  the  locks  about  his  temples  ;  though 
his  hair,  elsewhere,  was  as  black  as  the  raven.  His 
face  bore  the  marks  both  of  storm  and  battle :  it  was 
furrowed  and  deeply  embrowned  by  long  exposure 
to  every  vicissitude  of  weather ;  and  a  deep  scar 
across  the  left  brow  told  a  tale  of  dangers  braved 
A  2 


14 


•THE  ENCOUNTER. 


and  overcome.  His  eyes  were  large,  black  and 
piercing ;  and  the  habitual  compression  and  curve  of 
his  lip  indicated  both  firmness  and  haughtiness  of 
character — indications  which  those  who  sailed  with 
him  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  as  deceptive. 

But  notwithstanding  his  impatience,  and  the  ur- 
gency of  his  mission,  whatever  it  was,  the  Active 
continued  to  roll  heavily  about  at  the  sport  of  the 
big  round  billows,  which  swelled  up  and  spread  and 
tumbled  over  so  lazily,  that  their  glassy  surfaces 
were  not  broken  by  a  ripple.  The  sun  went  down 
clear,  but  red  and  fiery ;  and  the  sky,  though  its 
blue  faded  to  a  duskier  tint,  still  remained  un  flecked 
by  a  single  cloud.  As  the  broad  round  disk  disap- 
peared beneath  the  wave,  all  hands  were  called  to 
stand  by  their  hammocks ;  and  when  the  stir  and 
bustle  incident  to  that  piece  of  duty  had  subsided, 
an  unwonted  degree  of  stillness  settled  on  the  vessel. 
This  was  owing  in  part,  no  doubt,  to  the  presence  of 
the  commander,  before  whom  the  crew  were  not  apt 
to  indulge  in  any  great  exuberance  of  merriment ; 
but  the  sluggish  and  unusual  state  of  the  weather 
had  probably  the  largest  share  in  the  effect.  The 
captain  continued  on  deck,  pacing  up  and  down  the 
starboard  side ;  the  lieutenant  of  the  watch  leaned 
over  the  taffrel,  his  trumpet  idly  dangling  by  its 
becket  from  his  arm;  and  the  two  quarter-deck 
midshipmen  walked  in  the  gangway,  beguiling  their 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


15 


watch  with  prattle  about  home,  or  gay  anticipations 
of  the  future. 

"  We  shall  have  a  dull  and  lazy  i  ight  of  it, 
Vangs,"  said  the  master's  mate  of  the  forecastle,  as 
he  returned  forward  from  adding  on  the  log-slate 
another  "  ditto"  to  the  long  column  of  them  which 
recorded  the  history  of  the  day.  The  person  he 
addressed  stood  on  the  heel  of  the  bowsprit,  with  his 
arms  folded  on  his  breast,  and  his  gaze  fixed  intently 
on  the  western  horizon,  from  which  the  daylight  had 
now  so  completely  faded,  that  it  required  a  practised 
and  keen  eye  to  discern  where  the  sky  and  water 
met.  He  was  a  tall,  square-framed,  aged  looking 
seaman,  whose  thick  gray  hair  shaded  a  strongly 
marked  and  weather-beaten  face,  and  whose  shaggy 
overcoat,  buttoned  to  the  throat,  covered  a  form 
that  for  forty  years  had  breasted  the  storms  and 
perils  of  every  sea.  He  did  not  turn  his  head,  nor 
withdraw  his  eyes  from  the  spot  they  rested  on,  as 
he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  We  shall  have  work  enough 
before  morning,  Mr.  Garnet." 

"  Why,  where  do  you  read  that,  Vangs?"  inquired 
the  midshipman — "  there  is  nothing  of  the  sort  in 
my  reckoning." 

"I  read  it  in  a  book  I  have  studied  through  many 
a  long  cruise,  Mr.  Garnet,  and  though  my  eyes  are 
getting  old,  I  think  I  can  understand  its  meaning  yet. 
Hark  ye,  young  man,  the  hammocks  are  piped  down, 
A3 


16 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


and  the  watch  is  set ;  but  there  will  be  no  watch  in 
this  night— mark  my  words." 

"  Why,  Vangs,  you  are  turning  prophet,"  replied 
the  master's-mate,  who  was  a  rattling  young  fellow, 
full  of  blood  and  blue  veins.  "  I  shouldn't  wonder 
to  see  you  strike  tarpauling  when  the  cruise  is  up,  rig 
out  in  a  Methodist's  broad  brim  and  straight  togs, 
and  ship  the  next  trip  for  parson." 

"  My  cruisings  are  pretty  much  over,  Mr.  Gar- 
net, and  my  next  trip,  I  am  thinking,  is  one  I  shall 
have  to  go  alone — though  there's  a  sign  in  the 
heavens  this  night  makes  me  fear  I  shall  have  but 
too  much  company." 

"  Why,  what  signs  do  you  talk  of,  man  ?"  asked 
the  young  officer,  somewhat  startled  by  the  quiet 
and  impressive  tone  and  manner  of  the  old  quarter- 
master. "  I  see  nothing  that  looks  like  a  change  of 
weather,  and  yet  I  see  all  there  is  to  be  seen."  , 

"  I  talked  in  the  same  way,  once,  I  remember," 
said  Vangs,  "  when  I  was  about  your  age,  as  we  lay 
becalmed  one  night  in  the  old  Charlotte  East  India- 
man,  heaving  and  pitching  in  the  roll  of  a  ground 
swell,  much  as  we  do  now.  The  next  morning 
found  me  clinging  to  a  broken  topmast,  the  only 
thing  left  of  a  fine  ship  of  seven  hundred  tons,  which, 
with  every  soul  on  board  of  her,  except  me,  had 
gone  to  the  bottom.  That  was  before  you  were 
born,  Mr*  Garnet." 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


17 


"  Such  things  have  often  been,  no  doubt/'  said 
Garnet,  "  and  such  things  will  be  again — nay,  may 
happen  as  you  say,  before  morning.  But  because 
you  were  once  wrecked  in  a  gale  of  wind  that 
sprung  up  out  of  a  calm,  it  is  no  reason  that  every  calm 
is  to  be  followed  by  such  a  gale.  Show  me  a  sign 
of  wind,  and  I  may  believe  it ;  but  for  my  part,  I  see 
no  likelihood  of  enough  even  to  blow  away  the 
smoke  of  that  cursed  galley,  which  circles  and 
dances  about  here  on  the  forecastle,  as  if  it  was 
master's  mate  of  the  watch,  and  was  ordered  to  keep 
a  bright  look-out." 

"  Turn  your  eye  in  that  direction,  Mr.  Garnet. 
Do  you  not  see  a  faint  belt  of  light,  no  broader  than 
my  finger,  that  streaks  the  sky  where  the  sun  went 
down  ?  It  is  not  daylight,  for  I  watched  that  all 
fade  away,  and  the  last  glimmer  of  it  was  gone 
before  that  dim  brassy  streak  began  to  show  itself. 
And  carry  your  eye  in  a  straight  line  above  it — do 
you  not  mark  how  thick  and  lead-like  the  air  looks  ? 
There  is  that  there,"  said  the  old  man,  (laying  his 
hand  on  the  bowsprit,  as  he  prepared  to  sit  down 
between  the  night-heads)  "  will  try  what  stuff  these 
sticks  are  made  of  before  the  morning  breaks." 

Young  Garnet  put  his  hand  over  his  brow,  and 
half  shutting  his  eyes,  peered  intently  in  the  direc- 
tion the  old  seaman  indicated  ;  but  no  sign  pregnant 
with  such  evil  as  he  foreboded,  or  no  appearance 
even  of  the  wished  for  breeze,  met  his  vision.  Im- 


18 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


puting  the  predictions  of  Vangs  to  those  megrims 
which  old  sailors  are  apt  to  have  in  a  long  calm,  or 
perhaps  to  a  desire  to  play  upon  his  credulity,  he 
folded  his  pea-coat  more  closely  about  him,  and 
taking  his  seat  on  the  nettings  in  such  a  position  that 
he  could  lean  back  against  the  fore-rigging,  pre- 
pared to  settle  himself  down  in  that  delicious  state  of 
repose  between  sleeping  and  waking,  in  which  he 
thought  he  might  with  impunity  doze  away  such  a 
quiet  watch  as  his  promised  to  be.  He  had  scarcely 
closed  his  eyes,  however,  when  a  sound  rung  in  his 
ears  that  made  him  spring  to  the  deck,  and  at  once 
dispelled  all  disposition  to  slumber.  It  was  the  clear 
trumpet-like  voice  of  the  captain  himself,  hailing  the 
forecastle. 

"Sir!"  bawled  the  startled  master's  mate. 

"  Have  your  halliards  clear  for  running,  sir ! — 
your  cluelines  led  along,  and  the  men  all  at  their 
stations." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  sung  Garnet  in  reply,  and  then 
muttered  to  himself,  "  here's  the  devil  to  pay  and  no 
pitch  hot,  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this,  I  won- 
der ?  Has  the  skipper  seen  old  Vangs's  streak  of 
brass,  too  ?  or  does  he  hope  to  coax  the  wind  out,  by 
raising  such  a  breeze  on  deck  ?"  And  he  stepped 
upon  a  shot  box,  and  cast  another  long,  searching 
glance  into  the  western  horizon  ;  but  there  was  no 
sign  there  which  to  his  inexperienced  eye  boded  any 
change  of  weather. 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


19 


"  Fo'castle,  there !"  again  sounded  from  the 
quarter-deck,  but  it  was  now  the  voice  of  the  lieute- 
nant of  the  watch,  hailing  through  his  trumpet. 

"Sir  !"  answered  the  mate. 

"  Send  the  fo'castle-men  aloft  to  furl  the  foresail. 
Quarter-gunner  and  after-guard,  do  you  hear !  lay- 
aloft — lay  out — furl  away!" 

These  and  other  similar  orders  were  quickly 
obeyed,  and  stillness  again  succeeded.  But  the  at- 
tention of  all  on  deck  was  now  aroused ;  and  every 
one  watched  in  silence  for  some  less  questionable 
forerunner  of  wind  than  was  yet  visible  to  their  eyes. 
They  all  noticed,  however,  that  the  sky  had  grown 
thicker  and  of  a  dingier  hue,  and  that  not  a  single 
star  peeped  through  the  gloom.  But  there  was  not 
a  breath  of  air  yet  stirring.  The  topsails  continued 
to  flap  heavily  against  the  masts,  as  they  were 
swayed  to  and  fro  by  the  motion  of  the  vessel ;  the 
lower  yards  creaked  in  their  slings ;  and  the  ship 
headed  now  one  way  and  now  another,  as  she  yawed 
and  swung  round,  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
swell.  The  seamen  gathered  in  groups  at  their 
several  stations,  and  waited  in  silence  the  result 
which  all  now  began  to  apprehend. 

But  while  these  feelings  of  indefinite  fear  were 
entertained  by  those  on  deck,  the  watch  below  were 
disturbed  by  no  such  anxiety.  The  officers  in  the 
gun-room  were  variously  occupied,  according  to 
their  different  tastes  and  inclinations ;  some  amusing 


20 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


themselves  by  reading,  some  writing,  and  others 
stretched  upon  the  chairs  or  in  their  berths,  dream- 
ing away  the  interval  of  rest.  The  midshipmen  in 
the  steerage  had  gathered  round  their  mess-table, 
and  were  engaged  in  lively  chat  and  repartee, 
and  in  cracking  nautical  jokes  and  witticisms 
upon  each  other.  Their  discourse  was  plenti- 
fully interlarded  with  sea-phrases ;  for  these  juvenile 
sons  of  Neptune,  however  slender  their  seamanship 
in  other  respects,  have  commonly  great  volubility  in 
rattling  off  the  technicals  of  their  profession,  and  a 
surprising  facility  in  applying  them  to  the  ordinary 
topics  of  conversation.  With  the  omission  of  a 
single  letter,  the  distich  describing  Hudibras  might 
be  applied  to  them,  or,  if  a  poor  pun  be  allowable,  it 
may  be  said  to  fit  them  to  a  t,  for 

 they  cannot  ope 

Their  mouths,  but  out  there  fulls  a  rope. 

One  of  the  merriest  and  noisiest  of  the  group  in 
the  Active's  steerage  was  a  little,  rosy-cheeked, 
bright-eyed  reefer,  whose  flaxen  hair  curled  in  natu- 
ral ringlets  around  his  temples,  and  was  surmounted 
by  a  small  low-crowned  tarpauling  hat,  cocked 
knowingly  on  one  side,  in  amusing  imitation  of  the 
style  of  the  full-grown  jack  tar. 

"  Hullo,  Jigger,  how  does  she  head  now  ?"  cried 
the  little  wag  to  one  of  the  messboys,  as  his  bandy 
Jegs  made  their  appearance  down  the  companion 
ladder. 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


21 


"She  head  ebery  which  way,  Misser  Burton/' 
answered  the  black,  his  shining  face  dilated  with  a 
prodigious  grin,  showing  he  relished  the  humour  of 
the  question.  "  It  is  a  dead  calm  on  deck  you  know, 
Misser  Burton,  and  de  main  yard  is  brace  frat 
aback." 

"  O,  I  see,"  rejoined  the  urchin,  "  they  have  hove 
her  to,  Jigger,  to  give  her  half  a  lemon  to  keep  her 
from  fainting.  She  has  outsailed  the  wind,  and  is 
lying  by  to  wait  for  it." 

"  Lying  by,  indeed  J"  said  another  ;  "  she  is  going 
like  a  top." 

"  And  if  she  keeps  on,"  added  a  third,  "  she  will 
soon  go  as  fast  as  the  Dutchman's  schooner,  when 
she  stood  into  port  under  a  heavy  press  of  bolt-ropes, 
the  sails  having  blown  clean  out  of  them  at  sea." 

"  Oh,  I  heard  of  that  schooner,"  resumed  little 
Burton,  the  first  speaker.  "It  was  she  that  sailed 
so  fast,  that  when  they  broke  up  her  hatches,  they 
found  she  had  sailed  her  bottom  off." 

"Her  skipper,"  interrupted  another,  "was  both 
master  and  chief  mate,  and  they  made  the  duty  easy 
by  dividing  it  between  them,  watch  and  watch." 

"  Yet  the  Dutchman  grew  so  thin  upon  it,"  added 
little  Burton,  "  that  when  he  got  home  his  mother 
and  sister  could'nt  both  look  at  him  at  once." 

"  And  his  dog,"  said  the  other,  "  got  so  weak,  it 
had  to  lean  against  the  mast  to  bark." 

"Come,  come,  take  a  turn  there,  and  belay," 


22 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


cried  one  of  the  older  midshipmen,  who  was  stretched 
at  full  length  upon  a  locker.  u  Come,  you  have 
chased  that  joke  far  enough.  Heave  about,  and  see 
if  you  can't  give  us  something  better  on  t'other 
tack." 

••Well.  Tom  Derrick,  if  you  don't  like  our  rigs, 
tip  us  a  twist,  yourself.  Come,  spin  us  a  yarn,  my 
boy.  if  you  have  your  jaw-tacks  aboard/' 

"Xo.  no.  Charley  Burton,  I  can't  pay  out  any 
slack  to-night.  I  am  as  sleepy  as  a  lookout  in  a 
calm.  My  eyes  feel  like  the  marine's  when  his  cue 
was  served  so  taught,  he  could'nt  make  his  eyelids 
meet.  Hullo,  Jigger,  rouse  out  my  hammock  from 
that  heap  and  hang  it  up — you  know  which  it  is, 
don't  you  ?M 

"  Ki !  I  wish  I  had  as  much  tobacco  as  I  know 
which  Misser  Derrick's  hammock  is!"'  eagerly  re- 
plied the  negro. 

This  characteristic  speech  produced  a  hearty  burst 
of  laughter  :  and  in  chat  and  merriment  of  this  sort 
the  evening  slipped  away,  until  the  hour  for  extin- 
guishing the  lights  arrived,  and  the  quarter-master 
came  down  to  douse  the  glim. 

"Well,  Vangs,"  cried  the  ever  ready  Burton,  "it 
is  blowing  an  Irishman's  hurricane  on  deck,  is'nt  it — 
straight  up  and  down,  like  a  pig's  eye  V 

*•  It  is  all  quiet  yet."  replied  Vangs,  u  but  the  sky 
has  a  queer  look,  and  there  will  be  a  hurricane  of  a 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


28 


different  sort  before  you  are  many  hours  older,  Mr, 
Charles." 

"  Is  there  really  any  prospect  of  wind?"  asked  the 
midshipman  we  have  called  Derrick. 

"  There  is  something  brewing  in  the  clouds  we 
none  of  us  understand,"  answered  the  old  man,  in 
his  low  quiet  tone.  We  shall  have  more  wind  than 
we  want  before  long,  or  I  am  out  in  my  reckoning." 

"  Let  it  come  but-end  foremost,  if  it  chooses,  and 
the  sooner  the  better,"  said  young  Burton,  laughing; 
"  any  weather  rather  than  this ;  for  this  is  neither 
fish,  flesh,  nor  red  herring.  Let  it  blow,  Vangs,  and 
I  would'nt  mind  if  it  were  such  a  breeze  as  you  had 
in  the  old  Charlotte,  you  know,  when  it  blew  the 
sheet-anchor  into  the  foretop,  and  took  three  men 
to  hold  the  captain's  hair  on  his  head." 

The  old  quarter-master  turned  a  grave  and 
thoughtful  look  on  the  round  face  of  the  lively  boy, 
and  seemed  meditating  an  answer  that  might  repress 
what  probably  struck  him  as  untimely  mirth ;  but 
even  while  he  was  in  the  act  to  speak,  the  tempest 
he  had  predicted  burst  in  sudden  fury  upon  the 
vessel.  The  first  indication  those  below  had  of  its 
approach  was  the  wild  rushing  sound  of  the  gust, 
which  broke  upon  their  ears  like  the  roar  of  a  vol- 
cano.  The  heaving  and  rolling  of  the  ship  ceased 
all  at  once,  as  if  the  waves  had  been  subdued  and 
chained  down  by  the  force  of  a  mighty  pressure. 
The  vessel  stood  motionless  an  instant,  as  if  instinct 


24 


THE  ENCOUNTEE. 


with  life,  and  cowering  in  conscious  fear  of  the  ap- 
proaching strife ;  the  tempest  then  burst  upon  her 
but-end  foremost,  as  Burton  expressed  it,  and  the 
stately  mass  reeled  and  fell  over  before  it,  like  a 
tower  struck  down  by  a  thunderbolt.  The  surge  was 
so  violent  that  the  ship  was  thrown  almost  on  her 
beam-ends,  and  every  thing  on  board,  not  secured 
in  the  strongest  manner,  was  pitched  with  great 
force  to  leeward.  Midshipmen,  mess-table,  ham- 
mocks, and  the  contents  of  the  mess  lockers,  fell 
rustling,  rattling,  and  mixed  in  strange  disorder,  to 
the  lee-scuppers ;  and  when  the  ship  slowly  righted, 
straining  and  trembling  in  every  plank,  it  was  a 
moment  or  two  before  those  who  had  been  so  un- 
expectedly heaped  together  in  the  bends,  could  ex- 
tricate themselves  from  the  confusion,  and  make 
their  way  to  the  upper  deck. 

There,  a  scene  of  fearful  grandeur  was  presented. 
The  sky  was  of  a  murky,  leaden  hue,  and  appeared 
to  bend  over  the  ship  in  a  nearer  and  narrower  arch, 
binding  the  ocean  in  so  small  a  round,  that  the  eye 
could  trace,  through  the  whole  circle,  the  line  where 
the  sickly  looking  heaven  rested  on  the  sea.  The 
air  was  thick  and  heavy ;  and  the  water,  covered 
with  driving  snow-like  foam,  seemed  to  be  packed 
and  flattened  down  by  the  fury  of  the  blast,  which 
scattered  its  billows  into  spray  as  cutting  as  the  sleet 
of  a  December  storm.  The  wind  howled  and 
screamed  through  the  rigging  with  an  appalling 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


25 


sound,  that  might  be  likened  to  the  shrieks  and  wail- 
ings  of  angry  fiends ;  and  the  ship  fled  before  the 
tempest,  like  an  affrighted  thing,  with  a  velocity 
that  piled  the  water  in  a  huge  bank  around  her 
bows,  and  sent  it  off,  whirling  and  sparkling,  in  lines 
of  dazzling  whiteness,  soon  lost  in  the  general  hue 
of  the  ocean,  which  resembled  a  wild  waste  of  drift- 
ing snow. 

There  was  one  on  deck,  however,  who  had  fore, 
seen  this  awful  change,  and  made  preparations  to 
meet  it ;  and  when  the  tempest  burst,  in  full,  fell 
swoop,  upon  his  ship,  it  found  nothing  but  the  bare 
hull  and  spars  to  oppose  its  tremendous  power. 
Every  sail  had  been  closely  and  securely  furled,  ex- 
cept the  forestorm  staysail,  which  was  set  for  a  reason 
that  seamen  will  understand  ;  but  being  hauled  well 
aft  by  both  sheets,  it  was  stretched  stiffly  amidships, 
and  presented  nothing  but  the  bolt  rope  for  the  wind  to 
act  upon.  The  masts  and  yards,  with  their  snug 
and  well-bound  rolls  of  canvass,  alone  encountered 
the  hurricane.  But  even  these  were  tried  to  the 
uttermost.  The  topmasts  bent  and  creaked  before 
the  blast,  and  the  royal  poles  of  the  topgallantmasts, 
which  extended  above  the  crosstrees,  whipped  and 
thrashed  about  like  pliant  rods.  The  running  rig- 
ging rattled  against  the  spars,  and  the  shrouds  and 
backstays  strained  and  cracked,  as  if  striving  to 
draw  the  strong  bolts  which  secured  them  to  the 
vessel. 

B 


26 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


For  more  than  an  hour  did  the  Active  flee  along 
in  this  way,  like  a  wild  horse  foaming  and  stretch- 
ing at  his  utmost  speed,  driven  onward  in  the  van  of 
the  tempest,  and  exposed  to  its  fiercest  wrath.  At 
length,  the  first  fury  of  the  ga  e  passed  away,  and 
the  wind,  though  still  raging  tempestuously,  swept 
over  her  with  less  appalling  force.  The  ocean,  now, 
as  if  to  revenge  itself  for  its  constrained  inactivity, 
roused  from  its  brief  repose,  and  swelled  into  billows 
that  rolled  and  chased  each  other  with  the  wild  glee 
of  ransomed  demons.  Wave  upon  wave,  in  multi- 
tudinous confusion,  came  roaring  in  from  astern ; 
and  their  white  crests,  leaping,  and  sparkling,  and 
hissing,  formed  a  striking  feature  in  the  scene.  The 
wind,  fortunately,  issued  from  the  right  point,  and 
drove  the  Active  towards  her  place  of  destination. 
The  dun  pall  of  clouds,  which  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  gale,  had  totally  overspread  the  heavens, 
except  in  the  quarter  whence  the  blast  proceeded, 
now  began  to  give  way,  and  a  reddish  light  shone 
out  here  and  there,  in  long  horizontal  streaks,  like 
the  glow  of  expiring  coals  between  the  bars  of  a  fur- 
nace. Though  the  first  dreadful  violence  of  the 
storm  was  somewhat  abated,  it  still  raved  with  too 
much  fierceness  and  power  to  admit  of  any  relaxa- 
tion of  vigilance.  The  commander  himself  still  re- 
tained the  trumpet,  and  every  officer  stood  in  silence 
at  his  station,  clinging  to  whatever  might  assist  him 
to  maintain  his  difficult  footing. 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


27 


"Light,  oh !"  cried  the  lookout  on  one  of  the  cat- 
heads. 

"Where  away?"  demanded  the  captain. 
"Dead  ahead." 

"  What  does  it  look  like,  and  how  far  off?"  shouted 
the  captain,  in  a  loud  and  earnest  voice. 

"  Can  see  nothing  now,  sir  ;  the  glim  is  doused." 

"  Here,  Mr.  Burton,"  cried  the  commander,  "take 
this  night  glass ;  jump  aloft  on  the  foreyard,  sir,  and 
see  if  you  can  make  out  ar^y  object  ahead.  Hurry 
up,  hurry  up,  and  let  me  hear  from  you  immediately, 
sir  !  Lay  aft  to  the  braces !  Forecastle,  there !  have 
hands  by  your  staysail  sheets  on  both  sides !  fore- 
yard,  there !"  - 

But  before  the  captain  had  finished  his  hail,  the 
voice  of  little  Burton  was  heard,  singing  out,  "sail 
oh  1" 

"  What  does  she  look  like,  and  where  away  ?" 

"  A  large  vessel  lying  to  under  bare  poles— star- 
board your  helm,  sir,  quick — hard  a  starboard,  or 
you  will  fall  aboard  of  her  !" 

This  startling  intelligence  was  hardly  communi- 
cated before  the  vessel  descried  from  aloft  loomed 
suddenly  into  sight  from  deck  through  the  thick 
weather  to  leeward.  Her  dusk  and  shadowy  form 
seemed  to  rise  up  from  the  ocean,  so  suddenly  did 
it  open  to  view,  as  the  driving  mist  was  scattered 
for  a  moment.  She  lay  right  athwart  the  Active's 
bows,  and  almost  under  her  fore-foot — as  it  seemed 


28 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


while  she  pitched  into  the  trough  of  an  enormous 
sea — and  the  Active  rode  on  the  ridge  of  the  suc- 
ceeding wave,  which  curled  above  the  chasm,  as  if 
to  overwhelm  the  vessel  beneath. 

"  Starboard  your  helm,  quarter-master !  hard  a- 
starboard!"  cried  the  commander  of  the  Active,  in 
a  tone  of  startling  energy. 

"Starboard!"  repeated  the  deep  solemn  voice  of 
old  Vangs,  who  stood  on  the  quarter-nettings,  his 
tall  figure  propped  against  the  mizen  rigging,  and 
his  arm  wreathed  round  the  shroud. 

"Jump  to  the  braces,  men !"  continued  the  captain 
strenuously — "  haul  in  your  starboard  braces,  haul ! 
— ease  off  your  larboard  !  does  she  come  to,  quarter- 
master ? — Fo'castle  there !  ease  off  your  larboard 
staysail  sheet— let  all  go,  sir !" 

These  orders  were  promptly  obeyed,  but  it  was 
too  late  for  them  to  avail.  The  wheel,  in  the  hands 
of  four  stout  and  experienced  seamen,  was  forced 
swiftly  round,  and  the  effect  of  the  rudder  was  as- 
sisted by  a  pull  of  the  starboard  braces ;  but  in  such 
a  gale,  and  under  bare  poles,  the  helm  exerted  but 
little  power  over  the  driving  and  ponderous  mass. 
She  had  headed  off  hardly  a  point  from  her  course, 
when  she  was  taken  up  by  a  prodigious  surge,  and 
borne  onward  with  fearful  velocity.  The  catastro- 
phe was  now  inevitable.  In  an  instant  the  two 
ships  fell  together,  their  massive  timbers  crashing 
with  the  fatal  force  of  the  concussion.    A  wild 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


29 


shriek  ascended  from  the  deck  of  the  stranger,  and 
woman's  shrill  voice  mingled  with  the  sound.  All 
was  now  confusion  and  uproar  on  board  both  ves- 
sels. The  Active  had  struck  the  stranger  broad  on 
the  bows,  while  the  bowsprit  of  the  latter,  rushing 
in  between  the  foremast  and  the  starboard  fore- 
rigging  of  the  Active,  had  snapped  her  shrouds  and 
stays,  and  torn  up  the  bolts  and  chainplates,  as  if 
they  had  been  thread  and  wire.  Staggering  back 
from  the  shock,  she  was  carried  to  some  distance  by 
a  refluent  wave,  which  suddenly  subsiding,  she  gave 
such  a  heavy  lurch  to  port  that  the  foremast — now 
wholly  unsupported  on  the  starboard  side — snapped 
short  off  like  a  withered  twig,  and  fell  with  a  loud 
plash  into  the  ocean. 

"The  foremast  is  gone  by  the  board!"  shouted 
the  officer  of  the  forecastle. 

"  My  God !"  exclaimed  the  captain,  "  and  Charles 
Burton  has  gone  with  it !  Fo'castle  there !  Did 
Charles  Burton  come  down  from  the  foreyard?" 

v"  Burton !  Burton !  Burton  I"  called  twenty  voices, 
and  "Burton!"  was  shouted  loudly  over  the  side; 
but  there  was  no  reply ! 

In  the  mean  while  another  furious  billow  lifted  the 
vessel  on  its  crest,  and  the  two  ships  closed  again, 
like  gladiators,  faint  and  stunned,  but  still  compelled 
to  do  battle.  The  bows  of  the  stranger  this  time 
drove  heavily  against  the  bends  of  the  Active  just 
abaft  her  main- rigging,  and  her  bowsprit  darted 
B2 


30 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


quivering  in  over  the  bulwarks,  as  if  it  were  the 
arrowy  tongue  of  some  huge  sea  monster.  At  this 
instant  a  wild  sound  of  agony,  between  a  shriek  and 
groan,  was  heard  in  that  direction,  and  those  who 
turned  to  ascertain  its  cause  saw,  as  the  vessels 
again  separated,  a  human  body,  swinging  and  writh- 
ing at  the  stranger's  bowsprit  head.  The  vessel 
heaved  up  into  the  moonlight,  and  showed  the  face 
of  poor  Vangs,  the  quarter-master,  his  back  ap- 
parently crushed  and  broken,  but  his  arms  clasped 
round  the  spar,  to  which  he  appeared  to  cling  with 
convulsive  tenacity.  The  bowsprit  had  caught 
him  on  its  end  as  it  ran  in  over  the  Active's  side,  and 
driving  against  the  mizzenmast,  deprived  the  poor 
wretch  of  all  power  to  rescue  himself  from  the 
dreadful  situation.  While  a  hundred  eyes  were 
fastened  in  a  gaze  of  horror  on  the  impaled  seaman, 
thus  dangling  over  the  boiling  ocean,  the  strange  ship 
again  reeled  forward,  as  if  to  renew  the  terrible  en- 
counter. But  her  motion  was  now  slow  and  labour- 
ing. She  was  evidently  settling  by  the  head ;  she 
paused  in  mid  career,  gave  a  heavy  drunken  lurch 
to  starboard,  till  her  topmasts  whipped  against  the 
rigging  of  her  antagonist,  then  rising  slowly  on  the 
ridge  of  the  next  wave,  she  plunged  head  foremost, 
and  disappeared  for  ever.  One  shriek  of  horror  and 
despair  rose  through  the  storm — one  wild  delirious 
shriek !  The  waters  swept  over  the  drowning 
wretches,  and  hushed  their  gurgling  cry.    Then  all 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


31 


was  still ! — all  but  the  rush  and  whirl  of  waves  as 
they  were  sucked  into  the  vortex,  and  the  voice  of 
the  storm,  which  howled  its  wild  dirge  above  the 
spot. 

When  day  dawned  on  the  ocean,  the  Active  pre- 
sented a  different  appearance  from  that  which  she 
exhibited  but  a  few  short  hours  before.  Her  fore- 
mast gone,  her  bowsprit  sprung,  her  topgallantmasts 
struck,  her  bulwarks  shattered,  her  rigging  hanging 
loose,  and  whitened  by  the  wash  of  the  spray — she 
looked  little  like  the  gay  and  gallant  thing  wThich, 
at  the  same  hour  of  the  previous  day,  had  ploughed 
her  course  through  the  sea,  despite  the  adverse  gale, 
and  moved  proudly  along  under  a  cloud  of  canvass, 
as  if  she  defied  the  fury  of  the  elements.  Now,  how 
changed !  how  sad  the  contrast !  The  appearance 
of  such  of  the  officers  and  crew  as  were  moving 
about  the  deck  harmonized  with  that  of  the  vessel. 
They  looked  pale  and  dejected  ;  and  the  catas- 
trophe they  had  witnessed  had  left  traces  of  horror 
stamped  on  every  brow.  The  Active  was  still  near 
the  spot  of  the  fatal  event,  having  been  lying  to 
under  a  close  reefed  mainsail,  which  the  lulling  of 
the  wind  had  enabled  her  to  bear.  As  the  dawn 
advanced,  the  upper  deck  became  crowded,  and 
long  and  searching  looks  were  cast  over  the  ocean 
in  every  direction,  in  the  hope  to  discover  some 
vestige  of  those  who  had  met  their  doom  during  the 
night.  Such  of  the  boats  as  had  not  been  staved 
B3 


32 


THE  ENCOUNTER. 


were  lowered,  and  long  and  patient  efforts  were 
made  to  discover  traces  of  the  wreck.  But  the 
search  was  fruitless,  and  was  at  last  reluctantly 
abandoned.  The  boats  were  again  hauled  up  and 
stowed ;  the  Active  filled  away,  and  under  such  sail 
as  she  could  carry  in  her  crippled  state,  crept  for- 
ward towards  her  goal.  During  the  rest  of  her 
voyage  no  merry  laugh,  no  lively  prattle,  cheered 
the  steerage  mess-table.  The  bright  eyes  of  Charles 
Burton  were  closed — his  silvery  voice  was  hushed 
— his  gay  heart  was  cold — and  his  messmates 
mourned  his  timeless  fate  with  real  sorrow. 

In  a  few  days,  the  Sloop  of  War  reached  her 
port,  and  was  immediately  warped  to  the  dock-yard, 
where  she  was  stripped,  hove  down,  and  thoroughly 
overhauled.  The  officers  and  crew  lent  themselves 
earnestly  to  the  duty,  and  a  short  time  served  to 
accomplish  it.  In  less  than  a  week,  every  thing  set 
up  and  all  a-taunto,  the  ship  hauled  out  again, 
gleaming  with  fresh  paint,  and  looking  as  proud 
and  stately  as  before  the  disaster.  But  where  was 
she  that  had  been  wrecked  in  the  encounter  ?  Where 
and  who  were  those  that  perished  with  her?  Fond 
hearts  were  doubtless  eagerly  awaiting  them,  and 
anxious  eyes  strained  over  the  ocean  "  to  hail  the 
bark  that  never  could  return."  No  word,  no  whis- 
per ever  told  their  fate.  They  who  saw  them  per- 
ish knew  not  the  victims,  and  the  deep  gave  not  up 
its  dead. 


NIGHT   AT  GIBRALTAR. 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


The  mists  boil  up  around  me,  and  the  clouds 
Rise  curling  fast  beneath  me,  white  and  sulphury, 
Like  foam  from  the  roused  ocean  of  deep  hell. 
******** 

I  am  most  sick  at  hoart — nay,  grasp  me  not— 

I  am  all  feebleness — the  mountains  whirl 

Spinning  around  me— I  grow  blind — What  art  thou  ? 

Byron. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  the  famous  Rock  of 
Gibraltar  was  on  a  glorious  afternoon  in  the  month 
of  October.  The  sun  diffused  just  heat  enough 
through  the  air  to  give  it  an  agreeable  temperature, 
and  its  soft  and  somewhat  hazy  light,  showed  the 
scenery  of  the  Straits  to  the  best  advantage.  We 
had  had  a  rough,  but  uncommonly  short  passage  ; 
for  the  wind,  though  tempestuous,  had  blown  from 
the  right  quarter ;  and  our  gallant  frigate  dashed 
and  bounded  over  the  waves  before  it,  "like  a 
steed  that  knows  his  rider."  I  could  not  then  add 
with  the  poet,  from  whom  I  have  borrowed  this 
quotation,  "  Welcome  to  their  roar !"  for  I  was  a 
novice  on  the  ocean  in  those  days,  and  had  not  en- 
tirely recovered  from  certain  uneasy  sensations 


36 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


about  the  region  of  the  epigastrium,  which  by  no 
means  rendered  the  noise  of  rushing  waters  the 
most  agreeable  sound  to  my  ears,  or  the  rolling  of 
the  vessel  the  most  pleasant  motion  for  my  body. 
Never  did  old  sea-dog  of  a  sailor,  in  the  horse  lati- 
tudes, pray  more  sincerely  for  a  wind,  than  I  did  for 
a  calm,  during  that  boisterous  passage  ;  and  never, 
I  may  add,  did  the  selfish  prayer  of  a  sinner  prove 
less  availing.  The  gale  kept  "  due  on  the  Propontic 
and  the  Hellespont,"  and  it  blew  so  hard  that  it 
sometimes  seemed  to  lift  our  old  craft  almost  out  of 
water.  When  we  came  out  of  port,  we  had  had  our 
dashy  fair-weather  spars  aloft,  with  skysail  yards 
athwart,  a  moonsail  to  the  main,  and  hoist  enough 
for  the  broad  blue  to  show  itself  above  that.  But 
before  the  pilot  left  us,  our  topgallant-poles  were 
under  the  boom-cover,  and  storm-stumps  in  their 
places  ;  and  the  first  watch  was  scarcely  relieved, 
when  the  boatswain's  call — repeated  by  four  mates, 
whose  lungs  seemed  formed  on  purpose  to  outroar 
a  tempest — rang  through  the  ship,  "  All  hands  to 
house  topgallantmasts,  ahoy!"  From  that  time  till 
we  made  the  land,  the  gale  continued  with  uninter- 
mitted  violence,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  old  tars, 
and  the  manifest  annoyance  of  the  green  reefers,  of 
whom  we  had  rather  an  unusual  number  on  board. 
If  my  pen  were  endued  with  the  slightest  portion  of  the 
quality  which  distinguished  Hogarth's  pencil,  I  might 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


37 


here  give  a  description  of  a  man-of-war's  steerage 
in  a  storm,  which  should  force  a  smile  from  the 
most  saturnine  reader.  I  must  own  I  did  not  much 
relish  the  humour  of  the  scene  then — pars  magnafui 
— that  is,  I  was  sea-sick  myself ;  but  often  since, 
sometimes  in  my  hammock,  sometimes  during  a  cold 
mid- watch  on  deck,  I  have  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh, 
as  the  memory  of  our  grotesque  distresses,  and  of 
the  odd  figures*  we  cut  during  that  passage,  has 
glanced  across  my  mind. 

But  the  longest  day  must  have  an  end,  and  the 
stiffest  breeze  cannot  last  for  ever.  The  wind,  which 
for  a  fortnight  had  been  blowing  as  hard  as  a  trum- 
peter for  a  wager,  blew  itself  out  at  last.  About  dawn 
one  morning  it  began  to  lull,  and  by  the  time  the  sun 
was  fairly  out  of  the  water,  it  fell  flat  calm.  It  was 
my  morning  watch,  and  what  with  sea-sickness, 
hard  duty,  and  having  been  cabined,  cribbed,  confined 
for  so  long  a  time  in  my  narrow  and  unaccustomed 
lodgings,  I  felt  worn  out,  and  in  no  mood  to  exult  in 
the  choice  I  had  made  of  a  profession.  I  stood  hold- 
ing by  one  of  the  belaying  pins  of  the  main  fife-rail, 
for  I  had  not  yet,  as  the  sailors  phrase  it,  got  my 
sea.legs  aboard,  and  I  looked,  I  suppose,  as  melan- 
choly as  a  sick  monkey  on  a  lee  backstay,  when  a 
cry  from  the  foretopsail-yard  reached  my  ear,  that 
instantly  thrilled  to  my  heart,  and  set  the  blood  run- 
ning in  a  lively  current  through  my  veins.  "  Land, 
oh!"  cried  the  jack-tar  on  the  lookout,  in  a  cable- 


38 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


tier  voice,  which  seemed  to  issue  from  the  bottom  of 
his  stomach.  I  have  heard  many  delightful  sounds 
in  my  time,  but  few  which  seemed  pleasanter  than 
the  rough  voice  of  that  vigilant  sailor.  I  do  verily 
believe,  that  not  seven  bells  (grog  time  of  day)  to  a 
thirsty  tar,  the  dinner  bell  to  a  hungry  alderman,  or 
the  passing  bell  of  some  rich  old  curmudgeon  to  a 
prodigal  heir,  ever  gave  greater^  rapture.  The 
how-d'ye-do  of  a  friend,  the  good-by  of  a  country 
cousin,  the  song  of  tlie  Signorina,  and  Paganini's 
fiddle,  may  all  have  music  in  them ;  but  the  cry  of 
land  to  a  sea-sick  midshipman  is  sweeter  than  them 
all. 

We  made  what,  in  nautical  language,  is  termed  a 
good  land-fall — so  good,  indeed,  that  it  was  well  for 
us  the  night  and  the  wind  both  ceased  when  they 
did ;  for,  had  they  lasted  another  hour,  we  should 
have  found  ourselves  landed,  and  in  a  way  that  even 
I,  much  as  I  wished  to  set  my  foot  once  more  on 
terra  firma,  should  not  have  relished  very  much. 
On  its  becoming  light  enough  to  ascertain  our 
whereabout,  it  was  discovered  that  we  were  within 
the  very  jaws  of  the  Straits,  completely  land-locked 
by  the  "  steepy  shore,"  where 

"  Europe  and  Afric  on  each  other  gaze  ;" 

and  already  beginning  to  feel  the  influence  of  the 
strong  and  ceaseless  easterly  current  which  rushes 
into  the  Mediterranean  through  that  passage  at  the 
rate  of  four  or  five  knots  an  hour.    A  gentle  land- 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


39 


breeze  sprung  up  in  the  course  of  the  morning 
watch,  which,  though  not  exactly  fair,  yet  coming 
from  the  land  of  the  "  dusky  Moor,"  had  enough 
of  southing  in  it  to  enable  us,  with  the  set  of  the 
current,  to  get  along  tolerably  well,  beating  with  a 
long  and  a  short  leg  through  the  Straits. 

But  there  is  no  reason  that  I  should  make  my 
story  of  the  passage  as  tedious  as  the  reality ;  so, 
here's  for  a  fair  breeze  and  square  away  !  And 
now,  let  the  reader  fancy  himself  riding  at  anchor 
in  the  beautiful  but  unsafe  bay  of  Gibraltar,  directly 
opposite  and  almost  within  the  very  shadow  of  the 
grand  and  gigantic  fortress,  which  nature  and  art 
have  vied  with  each  other  in  rendering  impregnable. 
No  one  who  has  looked  on  that  vast  and  fortevd  rock, 
with  its  huge  granite  outline  shown  in  bold  relief 
against  the  clear  sky  of  the  south  of  Europe — its 
towering'  and  ruin-crowned  peaks — its  enormous 
crags,  caverns,  and  precipices — and  its  rich  histori- 
cal associations,  shedding  a  powerful  though  vague 
interest  over  every  feature — can  easily  forget  the 
impression  which  that  imposing  and  magnificent 
spectacle  creates.  The  flinty  mass  rising  abruptly 
to  an  elevation  of  fifteen  hundred  feet,  and  surround- 
ed on  every  side  by  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean, 
save  a  narrow  slip  of  level  sand  which  stretches 
from  its  northern  end  and  connects  it  with  the  main 
land,  has,  added  to  its  other  claims  to  admiration, 
the  strong  interest  of  utter  insolation. 


40 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


For  a  while,  the  spectator  gazes  on  thp  "stu- 
pendous whole"  with  an  expression  of  pleased 
wonder  at  its  height,  extent,  and  strength,  and 
without  becoming  conscious  of  the  various  oppo- 
site features  which  make  up  its  grand  effect  of 
sublimity  and  beaut)'.  He  sees  only  the  giant 
rock  spreading  its  vast  dark  mass  against  the 
sky,  its  broken  and  wavy  ridge,  its  beetling  pro- 
jections, its  "steep  down  gulfs,"  and  dizzy  precipices 
of  a  thousand  feet  perpendicular  descent.  After  a 
time,  his  eye  becoming  in  some  degree  familiarized 
with  the  main  and  sterner  features  of  the  scene,  he 
perceives  that  the  granite  mountain  is  variegated  by 
here  and  there  some  picturesque  work  of  art,  or 
spot  of  green  beauty,  smiling  with  surpassing  love- 
liness in  contrast  with  the  savage  roughness  around 
it.  Dotted  about  at  long  intervals  over  the  steep 
sides  of  the  craggy  mass,  are  seen  the  humble  cot- 
tages of  the  soldiers'  wives,  or,  perched  on  the  very 
edges  of  the  clitfs,  the  guard-houses  of  the  garrison  ; 
before  which,  ever  and  anon,  may  be  descried  the 
vigilant  sentry,  dwindled  to  a  pigmy,  walking  to  and 
fro  on  his  allotted  and  dangerous  post.  Xow  and 
then,  the  eye  detects  a  more  sumptuous  edifice,  half 
hid  in  a  grove  of  acacias,  orange,  and  almond  trees, 
clustering  around  it,  as  if  to  shut  from  the  view  of  its 
inhabitant,  in  his  eyrie-like  abode,  the  scene  of  deso- 
late grandeur  above,  beneath  him,  and  on  every 
side.  At  the  foot  of  the  rock,  on  a  small  and  nar- 
row slip,  less  precipitous  than  the  rest,  stands  the 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


41 


town  of  Gibraltar,  which,  as  seen  from  the  bay, 
with  its  dark-coloured  houses,  built  in  the  Spanish 
style,  and  rising  one  above  another  in  ampitheatri- 
cal  order ;  the  ruins  of  the  Moorish  castle  and  de- 
fences in  the  rear ;  and  the  high  massive  walls  which 
enclose  it  at  the  water's  edge,  and  which,  thick. planted 
with  cannon,  seem  formed  to  "laugh  a  seige  to 
scorn,"  has  a  highly  picturesque  effect.  The  mili- 
tary works  of  Gibraltar  are  on  a  scale  of  magnifi- 
cence commensurate  with  the  natural  grandeur  of 
the  scene.  Its  walls,  its  batteries,  and  its  moles, 
which,  bristling  with  cannon,  stretch  far  out  into  the 
bay,  and  against  whose  solid  structures  the  waves 
spend  their  fury  in  vain,  are  works  of  art  planned 
with  great  genius,  and  executed  with  consummate 
skill.  An  indefinite  sensation  of  awe  mixes  with 
the  stranger's  feelings,  as  gazing  upon  the  defences 
which  every  where  meet  his  eye,  he  remembers,  that 
the  strength  of  Gibraltar  consists  not  in  its  visible 
works  alone,  but  that,  hewn  in  the  centre  of  the  vast 
and  perpendicular  rock,  there  are  long  galleries  and 
ample  chambers,  where  the  engines  of  war  are  kept 
always  ready,  and  whence,  at  any  moment,  the  fires 
of  death  may  be  poured  down  upon  an  assailant. 

Though  the  rock  is  the  chief  feature  of  interest  in 
the  bay  of  Gibraltar,  yet,  when  fatigued  by  long 
gazing  on  its  barren  and  solitary  grandeur,  there 
are  not  wanting  other  objects  on  which  the  eye  of 
the  stranger  may  repose  with  pleasure.    The  green 

c  ■'     .'-'  ".^-5 


42 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


shores  of  Andalusia,  encircling  the  bay  in  their  semi- 
circular sweep,  besides  the  attraction  which  ver- 
dant hills  and  valleys  always  possess,  have  the  super- 
added charm  of  being  linked  with  many  classical 
and  romantic  associations.  The  picturesque  towns 
of  St.  Roque  and  Algesiras,  the  one  crowning  a 
smooth  eminence  at  some  distance  from  the  shore, 
and  the  other  occupying  a  gentle  declivity  that  sinks 
gradually  down  to  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  bay 
— the  mountains  of  Spain,  fringed  with  cork  forests, 
in  the  back  ground — the  dimly  seen  coast  of  Morocco 
across  the  Straits,  with  the  white  walls  of  Ceuta  just 
discernible  on  one  of  its  promontories— the  tower- 
ing form  of  Abila,  which  not  even  the  unromantic 
modern  name  of  Apes-hill  can  devest  of  all  its  in- 
terest as  one  of  "  the  trophies  of  great  Hercules" — 
these  are  all  attractive  features  in  the  natural  land- 
scape, and,  combined,  render  it  a  scene  of  exceeding 
beauty. 

The  clear  blue  waters  of  the  bay  itself  common- 
ly present  an  appearance  of  great  variety  and  ani- 
mation. Here  may  at  all  times  be  seen,  moored 
closely  together,  a  numerous  fleet  of  vessels,  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe,  of  every  fashion  of  struc- 
ture, and  manned  by  beings  of  every  creed,  land, 
and  colour.  The  flags  and  pennons  which  float  from 
their  masts,  the  sounds  which  rise  from  their  decks, 
and  the  appearance  and  employments  of  the  moving 
throngs  upon  them,  all  tend  to  heighten  the  charm 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


43 


of  novelty  and  variety.  In  one  place,  may  be  seen, 
perhaps,  a  shattered  and  dismantled  hulk,  on  board 
of  which  some  exiled  Spanish  patriot,  with  his  family, 
has  taken  refuge,  dwelling  there  full  in  the  sight  of 
his  native  land,  which  yet  he  can  scarcely  hope  ever 
to  tread  again:  in  another — on  the  high  latticed 
stern  of  a  tall,  dark-looking  craft,  whose  raking 
masts,  black  bends,  and  trig,  warlike  appearance 
excite  a  doubt  whether  she  be  merchantman  or 
pirate — a  group  of  Turks,  in  their  national  and 
beautiful  costume,  smoking  their  long  chiboques  with 
an  air  of  as  much  gravity  as  if  they  were  engaged  in  a 
matter  on  which  their  lives,  or  the  lives  of  their 
whole  race,  depended.  Beside  them  lies  a  heavy, 
clumsy  dogger,  on  board  of  which  a  company  of 
industrious,  slow-moving  Dutchmen  are  engaged  in 
trafficking  away  their  cargo  of  cheese,  butter,  Bo- 
logna  sausages,  and  real  Schiedam  ;  and  not  far 
away  from  these,  a  crew  of  light-hearted  Genoese 
sailors  are  stretched  at  length  along  the  deck  of  their 
polacca,  chanting,  in  voices  made  musical  by  dis- 
tance, one  of  the  rich  melodies  with  which  their 
language  abounds.  Boats  are  continually  passing 
hither  and  thither  between  the  vessels  and  the  shore  ; 
and,  every  now  and  then,  along  and  slender  felucca, 
with  its  slanting  yards,  and  graceful  lateen  sails, 
glides  across  the  bay,  laden  with  the  products  of  the 
fruitful  soil  of  Andalusia,  which  are  destined  to  sup- 


44 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


ply  the  tables  of  the  pent-up  inhabitants  of  the  gar- 
rison. 

I  have  mentioned  that  it  was  on  a  fine  day  in  Oc- 
tober that  we  arrived  at  Gibraltar,  and  I  have  ac- 
cordingly sketched  the  Rock,  and  the  adjacent 
scenery,  as  they  appeared  to  me  through  the  mellow 
light  of  that  pleasant  afternoon.  To  one  viewing 
the  scene  from  a  different  point  from  that  which  I 
occupied,  our  own  gallant  frigate  would  have  pre- 
sented no  unattractive  object  in  the  picture.  While 
we  were  beating  through  the  Straits,  the  gunner's 
crew  had  been  employed  in  blacking  the  bends, 
somewhat  rusty  from  the  constant  wash  of  a  stormy 
sea ;  and  we  had  embraced  the  opportunity  of  the 
gentle  land  breeze  to  replace  our  taunt  fair-weather 
poles,  and  to  bend  and  send  aloft  topgallant- sails, 
royals,  and  skysails,  for  which  there  had  not  before 
been  any  recent  occasion.  Thus  renewed,  and  all 
a-taunto,  with  our  glossy  sides  glistening  in  the  sun, 
our  flags  flying,  and  the  broad  blue  streaming  at 
the  main,  there  was  no  object  in  all  that  gay  and 
animated  bay  on  which  the  eye  could  rest  with 
greater  pleasure.  The  bustle  consequent  upon 
coming  to  anchor  was,  among  our  active  and  dis- 
ciplined crew,  of  but  brief  duration.  In  a  very  few 
minutes,  every  yard  was  squared  with  the  nicest 
precision ;  every  rope  hauled  taught,  and  laid  down 
in  a  handsome  Flemish  coil  upon  the  deck ;  and  the 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


45 


vast  symmetrical  bulk,  with  nothing  to  indicate  its 
recent  bufferings  with  the  storm,  lay  floating  quietly 
on  the  bright  surface, 

t!  As  idle  as  a  painted  ship  r 
Upon  a  painted  ocean." 

I  had  been  on  duty  ever  since  the  previous  mid- 
night, but  I  felt  no  disposition  to  go  below.  For 
more  than  an  hour  after  the  boatswain  piped  down, 
I  remained  on  deck,  gazing,  with  unsated  eyes,  on 
the  various  and  attractive  novelties  around  me.  A 
part  of  the  fascination  of  the  scene  was  doubtless 
owing  to  that  feeling  of  young  romance,  which  invests 
every  object  with  the  colours  of  the  imagination ;  and 
a  part,  to  its  contrast  with  the  dull  and  monotonous 
prospect  to  which  I  had  lately  been  confined,  till  my 
heart  fluttered,  like  a  caged  bird,  to  be  once  more 
among  the  green  trees  and  rustling  grass — to  see 
fields  covered  with  golden  grain,  and  swelling  away 
in  their  fine  undulations — to  scent  the  pleasant  odour 
of  the  meadows,  and  range,  at  will  through  those 
leafy  forests,  which,  I  began  to  think,  were  ill  ex- 
changed for  the  narrow  and  heaving  deck  of  a  forty- 
four.  Thoughts  of  this  kind  mingled  with  my 
musings,  as  I  leaned  over  the  tafferel,  with  my  eyes 
bent  on  the  verdant  hills  and  slopes  of  Spain ;  and 
so  absorbed  was  I  in  contemplation,  that  I  heard  not 
my  name  pronounced,  till  it  was  repeated  two  or 
three  times,  by  the  officer  of  the  deck. 

"Mr.  Transom!"  cried  he,  in  a  quick  and  im- 
C2 


46 


A  WIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


patient  voice,  "  are  you  deaf  or  asleep,  sir  ?  Here, 
jump  into  the  first  cutter  alongside  !  Would  you  keep 
the  commodore  waiting  all  day?" 

I  felt  my  cheek  redden  at  this  speech  of  the  lieu- 
tenant— one  of  those  popinjays  who,  dressed  in  a 
little  brief  authority,  think  to  show  their  own  conse- 
quence by  playing  off  impertinent  airs  upon  those  of 
inferior  station.  I  had  seen  enough  of  naval  ser- 
vice, however,  to  know  that  no  good  comes  of  re- 
plying to  the  insolence  of  a  superior ;  so,  suppressing 
the  answer  that  rose  to  my  lips,  I  hastened  down 
the  side  into  the  boat,  in  the  stem-sheets  of  which 
my  commander  was  already  seated. 

"  Shove  off,  sir,"  said  he. 

"Let  fall!  give  way!"  cried  I  to  the  men,  who 
sprang  to  their  oars  with  alacrity,  making  the  boat 
skim  through  the  water  lightly  and  fleetly  as  a  swal- 
low through  the  air.  In  five  minutes  we  were 
floating  alongside  the  stone  quay  at  the  Water-Port 
— as  the  principal  and  strongly  fortified  entrance  to 
the  garrison  from  the  bay  is  called. 

"  You  will  wait  here  for  me,"  said  the  commodore, 
as  he  stepped  out  of  the  boat.  "  Should  I  not  return 
before  the  gate  is  closed,  pull  round  to  the  Ragged- 
Staff,"  (the  name  of  the  other  landing-place,)  "  and 
wait  there." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir."  But  though  I  answered  promptly, 
and  with  a  tone  of  alacrity,  I  was  not,  in  truth, 
very  well  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  a  long  and 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


47 


tedious  piece  of  service,  fatigued  as  I  already  was 
with  my  vigil  of  the  previous  night,  and  the  active 
duties  of  the  day.  Little  cared  the  old  commodore, 
however,  whether  I  was  pleased  or  offended.  With- 
out honouring  me  with  a  look,  he  turned  away  as 
he  gave  the  order,  and  stepping  quickly  over  the 
drawbridge  which  connects  the  quay  with  the  for- 
tress, disappeared  under  the  massive  archway  of  the 
gate. 

For  a  while,  the  scene  at  the  Water-Port  afforded 
abundant  amusement.  The  quay,  beside  which  our 
boat  was  lying,  is  a  small  octangular  wharf,  construct- 
ed of  huge  blocks  of  granite,  strongly  cemented 
together.  It  is  the  only  place  which  boats,  except 
those  belonging  to  the  garrison,  or  national  vessels 
in  the  harbour,  are  permitted  to  approach;  and  though 
but  a  few  yards  square  in  extent,  is  enfiladed  in 
several  directions  by  frowning  batteries  of  granite, 
mounted  with  guns,  of  which  a  single  discharge 
would  shiver  the  whole  structure  to  atoms.  Mer- 
chant vessels  lying  in  the  bay  are  unloaded  by 
means  of  lighters,  which,  with  the  boats  of  passage 
continually  plying  between  the  shipping  and  the 
shore,  and  the  market-boats  from  the  adjacent  coast 
of  Spain,  all  crowd  round  this  narrow  quay,  render- 
ing it  a  place  of  singular  business  and  bustle.  As 
the  sunset  hour  approaches,  the  activity  and  con- 
fusion increases.  Crowds  of  people,  of  all  nations, 
and  every  variety  of  costume  and  language,  jostle 
C3 


48 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


each  other  as  they  hurry  through  the  gate.  The 

stately  Greek,  in  his  embroidered  jacket,  rich  purple 
cap,  and  flowing  capote,  strides  carelessly  along. 
The  Jew,  with  bent  head,  shaven  crown,  and  coarse, 
though  not  unpicturesque  gaberdine,  glides  with  a 
noiseless  step  through  the  crowd,  turning  from  side 
to  side  quick  wary  glances  from  underneath  his 
downcast  brows.  The  Moor,  wrapped  close  in  his 
white  bernoose,  stalks  sullenly  apart,  as  if  he  alone 
had  no  business  in  the  stirring  scene ;  while  the 
noisy  Spaniard  at  his  side  wages  an  obstreperous 
argument,  or  shouts  in  loud  guttural  sounds  for  his 
boat.  French,  English,  and  Americans,  officers, 
merchants,  and  sailors,  are  all  intermingled  in  the 
motley  mass,  each  engaged  in  his  own  business,  and 
each  adding  his  part  to  the  Babel-like  clamour  of 
tongues.  High  on  the  walls,  the  sentinels,  with 
their  arms  glistening  in  the  sun,  walk  to  and  fro  on 
their  posts,  and  look  down  with  indifference  or  ab- 
straction on  the  scene  of  hurry  and  turmoil  beneath 
them. 

Among  the  various  striking  figures  that  attracted 
my  attention,  as  I  reclined  in  the  stern-sheets  of  the 
cutter,  gazing  on  the  shifting  throng  before  me, 
there  was  one  the  appearance  and  manners  of  whom 
awakened  peculiar  interest.  He  was  a  tall,  muscu- 
lar, dark-looking  Spaniard,  whose  large  frame  and 
strong  and  well  proportioned  limbs  were  set  off  to 
good  advantage  by  the  national  dress  of  the  pea- 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


49 


santry  of  his  country.  His  sombrero,  slouched  in 
a  studied  manner  over  his  eyes,  as  if  to  conceal  their 
fierce  rolling  balls,  shaded  a  face,  the  sun-burnt  hue 
of  which  showed  that  it  had  not  always  been  so 
carefully  protected.  From  the  crimson  sash  which 
was  bound  round  his  waist,  concealing  the  connex- 
ion of  his  embroidered  velvet  jacket  with  his  nether 
garments,  a  long  knife  depended ;  and  this,  together 
with  a  sinister  expression  of  countenance,  and  an  in- 
describable something  in  the  general  air  and  bear- 
ing of  the  man,  created  an  impression  which  caused 
me  to  shrink  involuntary  from  him  whenever  he  ap- 
proached the  boat.  He  himself  seemed  actuated  by 
similar  feelings.  On  first  meeting  my  eye,  he  drew 
his  sombrero  deeper  over  his  brow,  and  hastily  re- 
tired to  another  part  of  the  quay ;  but  every  now 
and,  then  I  could  see  his  dark  face  above  a  group 
of  the  intervening  throng,  and  his  keen  black  eyes 
seemed  always  directed  towards  me,  till?  perceiving 
that  I  noticed  him,  he  would  turn  away,  and  mix 
again  among  the  remoter  portion  of  the  crowd. 

I  endeavoured  to  follow  this  singular  figure  in 
one  of  his  windings  through  the  multitude,  when  my 
attention  was  drawn  in  another  direction  by  a  loud, 
long  call  from  a  bugle,  sounded  within  the  walls, 
and,  in  an  instant  after,  repeated  with  a  clearer  and 
louder  blast  from  their  summit.  This  signal  gave 
new  motion  and  activity  to  the  crowd.  A  few  hur- 
ried from  the  quay  into  the  garrison,  but  a  greater 


50 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


number  poured  from  the  interior,  and  hastily  crossed 
the  drawbridge  to  the  quay,  and  all  appeared  anx- 
ious to  depart.  Boat  after  boat  was  drawn  up,  re- 
ceived its  burden,  and  darted  off,  while  others  took 
their  places,  and  were  in  turn  soon  filled  by  the  retir- 
ing crowd.  Soldiers  from  the  garrison  came  out 
upon  the  quay  to  urge  the  tardy  into  quicker  motion ; 
mingled  shouts,  calls,  and  curses  resounded  on  every 
side  ;  and  for  a  few  minutes  confusion  seemed  worse 
confounded.  But  in  a  short  time  the  last  loiterer 
was  hurried  away — the  last  felucca  shoved  off,  and 
was  seen  gliding  on  its  course,  the  sound  of  its  oars 
almost  drowned  in  the  noisy  gabble  of  its  Andalusian 
crew.  As  soon  as  the  quay  became  entirely  de- 
serted, the  military  returned  within  the  walls,  and  a 
pause  of  silence  ensued — then  pealed  the  sunset  gun 
from  the  summit  of  the  rock — the  drawbridge,  by 
some  unseen  agency,  was  rolled  slowly  back,  till  it 
disappeared  within  the  arched  passage — the  ponde- 
rous gates  turned  on  their  enormous  hinges — and 
Gibraltar  was  closed  for  the  night  against  the  world. 

Thus  shut  out  at  the  Water- Port,  I  directed  the 
boat's  crew,  in  compliance  with  my  orders,  to  pull 
round  to  the  Ragged-StafF.  The  wall  at  this 
place  is  of  great  height,  and  near  its  top  is  left  a 
small  gate,  at  an  elevation  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above 
the  quay,  which  projects  into  the  bay  beneath.  It  is 
attained  by  a  spiral  staircase,  erected  about  twenty 
feet  from  the  wall,  and  communicating  with  it  at  the 


A  MIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


52 


top  by  means  of  a  drawbridge.  This  gate  is  little 
used,  except  for  the  egress  of  those  who  are  per- 
mitted to  leave  the  garrison  after  nightfall.  On 
reaching  the  quay,  I  sprang  ashore,  and  walking  to 
a  favourable  position,  endeavoured  to  amuse  myself 
once  more  by  contemplating  from  this  new  point  of 
view  the  hills  and  distant  mountains  of  Spain.  But 
the  charm  was  now  fled.  Night  was  fast  stealing 
over  the  landscape,  and  rendering  its  features  misty 
and  indistinct :  a  change,  too,  had  taken  place  in  my 
own  feelings,  since,  a  few  hours  before,  I  had  found 
so  much  pleasure  in  dwelling  on  the  scene  around 
me,  I  was  now  cold,  fatigued,  and  hungry :  my 
eyes  had  been  fed  with  novelties  until  they  were 
weary  with  gazing :  my  mind  had  been  crowded 
with  a  succession  of  new  images,  until  its  vigour  was 
exhausted.  I  cast  my  eyes  up  to  the  Rock,  but  it 
appeared  cold  and  desolate  in  the  deepening  twi- 
light, and  I  turned  from  its  steep,  flinty  sides,  and 
dreadful  precipices,  with  a  shudder.  The  waves 
and  ripples  of  the  bay,  which  the  increasing  evening 
wind  had  roughened,  broke  against  the  quay  where 
I  was  standing  with  a  sound  that  created  a  chilly 
sensation  at  my  heart.  Even  the  watch-dog's  bark, 
from  on  board  some  vessel  in  the  bay,  gave  me  no 
pleasure,  as  it  was  borne  faintly  to  my  ear  by  the 
eastern  breeze ;  for  it  was  associated  with  sounds  of 
home,  and  awakened  me  to  a  painful  consciousness 
of  the  distance  I  had  wandered,  and  the  fatigues  and 


52  A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 

# 

perils  to  which  I  was  exposed ;  and  a  train  of  sombre 
thoughts,  despite  my  efforts  to  drive  them  away,  took 
possession  of  my  mind. 

At  length,  yielding  to  their  influence,  I  climbed  to 
the  top  of  a  rude  heap  of  stones,  which  had  been 
piled  on  the  end  of  the  pier,  and  seating  myself  where 
my  eye  could  embrace  every  portion  of  the  shadowy 
landscape,  I  gave  free  rein  to  melancholy  fancies. 
My  wandering  thoughts  roamed  over  a  thousand 
subjects ;  but  one  subject  predominated  over  all.  My 
memory  recalled  many  images;  but  one  image  it 
presented  with  the  vividness  of  life,  and  dwelt  on 
with  the  partiality  of  love.  It  was  the  image  of  one 
who  had  been  the  object  of  my  childhood's  love, 
whom  I  had  loved  in  boyhood,  and  whom  now,  in 
opening  manhood,  I  still  loved  with  a  passionate 
and  daily  increasing  affection.  Linked  with  the 
memory  of  that  sweet  being,  came  thoughts  of  the 
rival  who  had  sought  to  win  her  heart  from  me, 
and  who,  foiled  in  his  purpose,  had  conceived  and 
avowed  the  bitterest  enmity  to  me : — and  from  him, 
my  thoughts  glided,  under  the  influence  of  some 
strange  association,  to  the  tall  and  singular-looking 
Spaniard  whom  I  had  seen  at  the  Water- Port.  In 
this  way  my  vagrant  meditations  ranged  from  topic 
to  topic,  with  all  that  wildness  of  transition  which  is 
sometimes  produced  by  the  excitement  of  opium. 

While  thus  engaged,  I  know  not  how  long 
a  time  slipped  by;  but  at  length  my  thoughts 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


58 


began  to  grow  less  distinct,  and  my  eyes  to  feel 
heavy ;  and  had  I  not  been  restrained  by  a  sense  of 
shame  and  duty  as  an  officer,  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  resign  myself  to  sleep.  My  eyelids,  in  des- 
pite of  me,  did  o  ice  or  twice  close  for  an  instant  or 
two ;  and  it  was  in  an  effort  to  arouse  myself  from 
one  of  these  little  attacks  of  somnolency,  that  I  was 
startled  by  seeing  an  object  before  me,  the  appear- 
ance of  whom  in  that  place  struck  me  with  surprise. 
The  moon  had  risen,  and  was  just  shedding  a  thin 
and  feeble  glimmer  over  the  top  of  the  Rock,  the 
broad  deep  shadow  of  which  extended  almost  to  the 
spot  where  I  was  sitting.  Emerging  from  this 
shadow,  I  saw  approaching  me  the  identical  Spa- 
niard whose  malign  expression  of  countenance  and 
general  appearance  had  so  strongly  attracted  my 
attention  at  the  Water-Port.  That  it  was  the  same 
I  could  not  doubt,  for  his  height,  his  dress,  his  air, 
all  corresponded  exactly.  He  had  the  same  long 
peculiar  step  ;  he  still  wore  the  same  large  sombrero, 
which,  as  before,  was  drawn  deep  over  his  brows ; 
the  same  glistening  knife  was  thrust  through  his  sash ; 
and  the  same  fantastically  stamped  leather  gaiters 
covered  his  legs.  He  approached  close  to  me,  and 
in  a  voice,  which,  though  hardly  above  a  whisper, 
thrilled  me  to  the  bone,  informed  me  that  the  com- 
modore had  sent  for  me,  and  bad§  me  follow  him. 
As  he  spoke  these  words  he  turned  away,  and  walked 
towards  the  garrison.    Shall  I  own  it,  gentle  read- 


54 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


er? — A  sensation  of  fear  crept  over  me  at  the  idea 
that  I  was  to  follow  this  herculean  and  sinister-look- 
ing Spaniard,  and  I  had  some  faint  misgivings  wheth- 
er I  ought  to  obey  his  summons.  But  I  reflected 
that  he  was  probably  a  servant  or  messenger  of 
some  officer  or  family  where  the  commodore  was 
visiting ;  that  he  could  have  no  motive  to  mislead 
me  ;  and  that,  were  I  to  neglect  obeying  the  order 
through  apprehension  of  its  bearer,  because  he  was 
tall,  had  whiskers,  and  wore  a  sombrero,  I  should 
deservedly  bring  down  upon  myself  the  ridicule  of 
every  midshipman  in  the  Mediterranean.  Besides, 
thought  I,  how  foolish  should  I  feel,  if  it  should  turn 
out,  as  is  very  likely,  that  this  is  some  ball  or  party 
to  which  the  commodore  has  been  urged  to  stay, 
and,  unwilling  to  keep  me  waiting  for  him  so  long 
in  this  dreary  place,  he  has  sent  to  invite  me  to  join 
him.  This  last  reflection  turned  the  scale ;  so  slip- 
ping down  from  my  perch,  I  followed  towards  the 
gate.  The  form  of  the  stranger  had  already  dis- 
appeared in  the  shadow  of  the  Rock ;  but  on  reach- 
ing the  foot  of  the  spiral  staircase  which  led  up  to 
the  drawbridge,  I  could  hear  his  heavy  tread  as- 
cending the  steps.  Directly  after,  the  gate  was  un- 
barred, the  bridge  lowered,  and  a  footstep  crossing 
it  announced  that  the  Spaniard  was  within  the  walls. 
I  followed  as  rapidly  as  I  could,  and  got  within  the 
gate  just  in  time  to  see  the  form  of  my  conductor 
disappear  round  one  of  the  angles  of  the  fortifica- 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


55 


tions ;  but  quickening  my  pace,  I  overtook  him  as  he 
reached  the  foot  of  a  path  which  seemed  to  ascend 
towards  the  southern  end  of  the  Rock. 

"  This  way  lies  the  town,"  said  I,  pointing  in  the  op- 
posite direction  ;  "  you  surely  have  mistaken  the 
route." 

The  Spaniard  made  no  answer,  but  pointed  with 
his  hand  up  the  narrow  and  difficult  path,  and  beck- 
oning me  to  follow  him,  began  the  ascent.  The 
moon  shone  on  his  countenance  for  a  moment  as  he 
turned  towards  me,  and  I  thought  I  could  perceive 
that  the  sinister  expression  which  had  been  one  of 
the  first  things  that  drew  my  attention  to  him,  was 
now  aggravated  into  a  smile  of  more  decided  malig- 
nity. I  continued  to  follow,  however,  and  struggled 
hard  to  overtake  him.  But  the  path  was  steep  and 
very  rugged,  and  my  conductor  walked  with  great 
speed.  His  footing  seemed  sure  as  that  of  the 
mountain  goat.  I  became  wearied,  exhausted, 
almost  ready  to  drop  with  fatigue,  and  with  all  my 
efforts  was  unable  to  diminish  the  interval  between 
us.  The  ascent  continually  grew  more  difficult, 
and  it  soon  became  so  steep,  indeed,  that  I  could 
scarcely  clamber  up  it.  My  feet  were  bruised 
through  the  thin  soles  of  my  pumps,  and  in  toiling  on 
my  hands  and  knees  over  some  of  the  most  abrupt 
pitches,  the  jagged  points  of  the  rock  penetrated  my 
flesh.  After  thus  slowly  and  painfully  groping  my 
way  for  a  considerable  distance,  we  at  length  reach- 


56 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


ed  a  place  where  the  path  pursued  a  level  course — 
but  what  a  path !  what  a  place !  A  narrow  ledge, 
scarce  two  feet  wide,  had  been  formed,  partly  by 
nature,  partly  by  art,  at  the  height  of  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  water,  around  a  sweep  of  the  rock 
where  it  rose  perpendicularly  from  its  base  to  its 
extreme  summit.  This  ledge  was  covered  with 
loose  stones,  which,  at  every  step,  fell  rattling  and 
thundering  down  the  mighty  precipice,  till  the  sound 
died  away  in  the  immense  depths  below.  1  could 
not  conjecture  whither  the  Spaniard  was  leading 
me ;  but  I  had  now  gone  too  far  to  think  of  retreat- 
ing. Every  step  was  now  at  the  hazard  of  life. 
The  ledge  was  so  narrow,  the  loose  stones  which 
covered  it  rolled  so  easily  from  under  my  feet,  and 
my  knees  trembled  so  violently  from  fear  and  fatigue, 
that  I  could  scarcely  hope  to  continue  much  further 
in  safety  over  such  a  pathway.  At  last  we  reached 
a  broader  spot.  I  sunk  down  exhausted,  yet  with 
a  feeling  of  joy  that  I  had  escaped  from  the  perilous 
path  I  had  just  been  treading.  The  Spaniard  stood 
beside  me>  and  I  thought  a  smile  of  malign  satisfac- 
tion played  round  his  lips  as  he  looked  down  upon 
me,  panting  at  his  feet.  He  suffered  me  to  rest  but 
a  moment,  when  he  motioned  me  to  rise.  I  obeyed 
the  signal,  as  if  it  were  the  behest  of  my  evil  genius. 

"  Look  round  you,"  said  he,  "  and  tell  me  what 
you  behold  !" 

I  glanced  my  eyes  round,  and  shuddering,  with- 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


57 


drew  them  from  the  fearful  prospect.  The  ledge  or 
platform  on  which  we  were  standing  was  but  a  few 
feet  square ;  behind,  a  large  and  gloomy  cavern 
opened  its  black  jaws ;  and  in  front,  the  rock  de* 
scended  to  the  sea  with  so  perpendicular  a  front,  that 
a  stone,  dropped  from  its  edge,  would  have  fallen 
without  interruption  straight  down  into  the  waves. 

"  Are  you  ready  to  make  the  leap  ?"  said  the 
Spaniard,  in  a  smooth,  sneering  tone,  seeing,  and 
seeming  to  enjoy,  the  terror  of  my  countenance. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,"  cried  I,  "  who  are  you  ?  and 
why  am  I  made  your  victim  ?" 

"Look!"  cried  he,  throwing  the  sombrero  from 
his  head,  and  approaching  close  to  me,  "  look !  know 
you  not  these  features?  They  are  those  of  him 
whose  path  you  have  crossed  once,  but  shall  never 
cross  again !" 

He  seized  hold  of  me  as  he  spoke,  with  a  fiendish 
grasp,  and  strove  to  hurl  me  headlong  from  the  rock. 
I  struggled  with  all  the  energy  of  desperation,  and 
for  a  moment  baffled. the  design.  He  released  his 
hold  round  my  body,  and  stepping  back,  stood  an 
instant  gazing  on  me  with  the  glaring  eyeballs  of  a 
tiger  about  to  spring  upon  its  prey ;  then  darting 
towards  me,  he  grappled  me  with  both  hands  round 
the  throat,  and  dragged  me,  despite  my  struggling, 
to  the  very  verge  of  the  precipice.  With  a  power- 
ful exertion  of  strength,  which  I  was  no  longer 
able  to  resist,  he  dashed  my  body  over  the  edge? 
D 


58  A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 

and  held  me  out  at  arm's  length  above  the  dread 
abyss.  The  agony  of  years  of  wretchedness  com- 
pressed  into  a  single  second,  could  not  exceed  the 
horror  of  the  moment  I  remained  so  suspended. 
There  was  a  small  tree  or  bush  which  grew  out  of 
a  cleft  just  beneath  the  ledge.  In  my  despairing, 
frantic  struggle,  I  caught  hold  of  a  branch  of  it,  just 
at  the  critical  instant  when  the  Spaniard  relaxed 
his  grasp,  intending  to  drop  me  down  the  fearful 
gulf.  His  purpose  was  again  baffled  for  another 
moment  of  horror.  He  gnashed  his  teeth  as  he 
saw  me  swing  off  upon  the  fragile  branch,  which 
cracked  and  bent  beneath  my  weight,  and,  at  most, 
could  save  me  from  his  fury  but  for  a  fleeting  mo- 
ment. That  moment  seemed  too  long  for  his 
impatient  hate.  He  sprang  to  the  very  verge 
of  the  ledge,  and  placing  his  foot  firmly  on  the  tree, 
pressed  it  down  with  all  his  strength.  In  vain,  with 
chattering  teeth  and  horror-choked  voice,  I  implored 
him  to  desist.  He  answered  not,  but  stamped 
furiously  on  the  tree.  The  r.oot  began  to  give  way 
— the  loosened  dirt  fell  from  around  it — the  trunk 
snapped,  cracked,  and  separated — and  the  fiend  set 
up  an  inhuman  laugh,  which  rung  in  my  ears  like 
the  mocking  of  a  demon,  as  down — down — down  I 
fell,  through  the  chill,  thick,  pitchy  air,  till  striking 

with  a  mighty  force  on  the  rocks  beneath  1 

waked,  and  lo,  it  was  a  dream ! 

It  was  broad  daylight.  In  my  sleep  I  had  rolled  from 


A  NIGHT  AT  GIBRALTAR. 


59 


the  heap  of  stones  which  had  furnished  me  with  my 
evening  seat  of  meditation,  and  which,  during  my  sleep, 
had  supplied  my  imagination  with  abundant  materials 
for  yawning  gulfs  and  chasms.  The  laugh  of  the 
infernal  Spaniard  turned  out  to  be  only  a  burst  of  in- 
nocent  merriment  at  my  plight  from  little  Paul  Mes- 
senger, a  rosy,  curly-haired  midshipman,  and  one 
of  the  finest  little  fellows  in  the  world.  The  matter 
was  soon  explained.  The  commodore,  returning  to 
the  boat,  and  seeing  me  sleeping  on  a  bed  of  my  own 
choosing,  as  he  expressed  it,  had  chosen  to  punish 
me  by  leaving  me  to  my  slumbers.  So  shoving  off, 
without  waking  me,  he  had  returned  to  the  ship ;  on 
reaching  which,  however,  he  gave  the  officer  of  the 
deck  directions  to  send  a  boat  for  me  at  daylight. 
Little  Pau^  always  ready  to  do  a  kind  act,  asked  to 
go  officer  of  her ;  and  we  pulled  back  to  the  frigate, 
iaughing  over  my  story  of  the  imaginary  adventures 
of  the  night. 


MERRY  TERRY, 


D  9 


MERRY  TERRY. 


His  breast  with  wounds  unnumbered  riven, 
His  back  to  earth,  his  face  to  heaven, 
Fallen  Hassan  lies — his  unclosed  eye 
Yet  lowering  on  his  enemy. 
As  if  the  hour  that  sealed  his  fate, 
Surviving  left  his  quenchless  hate  : 
And  o'er  him  bends  his  foe,  with  brow 
As  dark  as  his  that  bled  below. 

Byron* 

"Come,  spin  us  a  yarn,  Jack,  my  boy,"  said  a 
curly-headed,  rosy-cheeked  young  midshipman,  to  old 
Jack  Palmer,  one  evening,  as  the  vessel  to  which  they 
were  attached  was  running  down  the  Spanish  Main, 
before  as  sweet  a  breeze  as  ever  filled  a  to'gallant- 
sail.  Jack  Palmer  was  an  old  sea-dog,  and  a 
clever  fellow, — that  is  to  say,  in  the  Yankee  sense 
of  the  word.  He  had  seen  all  sorts  of  service,  and 
knew  all  sorts  of  stories,  which  were  perhaps  not 
the .  less  amusing  for  the  nautical  phraseology  in 
which  they  were  expressed.  He  was  master's  mate 
of  the  gun-deck ;  but  when  called  upon  for  a  story 
by  Rosy  Willy,  (the  name  of  the  little  reefer  that 
had  asked  Jack  for  a  yarn,)  his  business  for  the  day 
D3 


64 


ME II  f  -  TEfiEY. 


was  finished ;  the  grog  had  been  served,  the  bull 
stowed  away  in  the  spirit-room,  and  the  key  of  the 
hatch  returned  to  the  master.  It  was  a  pleasant 
evening,  too,  and  as  it  was  only  three  bells  of  the 
second  dog-watch,  and  of  course  too  early  to  turn  in, 
Jack  sat  down  on  the  fo'castle  chest,  and  signified 
his  willingness  to  comply.  He  was  immediately 
surrounded  by  a  knot  of  midshipmen,  eager  to  listen ; 
and,  after  the  usual  preliminary  of  a  fresh  quid,  he 
began  as  follows : 

Merriville  Terry,  or  as  they  used  to  call  him  for 
shortness,  Merry  Terry — and  a  right  good  name  it 
was,  for  he  was  as  gay  a  lark  as  ever  gave  life  and 
animation  to  a  steerage  mess-table — was  one  of  the 
noblest  middies  I  ever  knew.  He  was  as  full  of 
rigs  and  jokes  as  a  French  man-of-war  is  of  music, 
and  they  were  quite  as  harmless,  too ;  for  Merry 
never  said  any  thing  to  hurt  a  shipmate's  feelings, 
and  no  one  ever  thought  of  getting  angry  at  his  fun. 
There  wasn't  a  reefer  in  the  whole  fleet  that  didn't 
love  him  like  a  brother ;  nor  a  luff,  that  when  there 
wasjiard  duty  to  do,  didn't  favour  him  all  he  could ; 
for  Merry  had  a  delicate  constitution,  and  couldn't 
stand  the  rough  and  tumble  of  the  service  as  well  as 
some.  But  he  was  no  skulk,  and,  blow  high  or 
blow  low,  Merry  never  shrank  from  his  watch. 
When  the  relief  was  called  at  night,  whether  it  was 
calm  or  storm,  all  sail  or  a  close-reefed  topsail  and 
foresail,  it  made  no  difference — on  deck  he  al- 


MERRY  TERRY. 


65 


ways  was  before  the  sound  was  out  of  the  bell!  He 
didn't  tumble  up  the  hatchway  either,  as  some  of 
you  reefers  do,  with  your  hands  in  your  beckets, 
and  your  bow  ports  half  shut,  or  fumbling  at  your 
button-holes,  like  a  green-horn  at  a  gasket ;  but  up 
he  sprung,  wide  awake,  and  rigged  from  clue  to  ear- 
ing, as  if  all  dressed  to  go  ashore  on  liberty. 

As  I  said  afore,  every  body  from  stem  to  stern 
liked  Merry  Terry,  or  for  the  matter  of  that,  from 
one  end  of  the  navy  list  to  the  other — all  except  one 
man.  As  for  the  sailors,  it  would  have  done  your 
heart  good  to  see  how  they  watched  his  eye  when 
he  had  charge  of  the  deck,  as  if  they  wanted  to  spell 
out  his  orders  before  he  had  time  to  speak  'em. 
They  would  do  more  for  a  single  look  of  Merry, 
than  for  all  the  curses  and  damns  of  the  skipper, 
though  backed  by  the  boatswain's  mate,  with  the 
cats  in  his  hand.  It  wasn't  from  any  fear  of  him, 
you  may  be  sure,  for  I  don't  b'lieve  Merry  ever 
stopped  a  man's  grog,  or  as  much  as  gave  him  a 
cross  word,  in  his  life ;  but  it  was  from  pure  love  and 
respect.  When  he  spoke,  to  be  sure,  there  was 
something  in  his  tone  and  manner  that  seemed  to 
say  he  must  be  obeyed ;  and  when  he  looked  at  a 
man  who  had  been  cutting  up  rusties,  though  he 
didn't  frown,  or  swell,  or  try  to  look  big,  as  I  have 
seen  some  officers  do,  yet  there  was  that  in  his  eye 
which  made  the  stoutest  quail.  It  was  just  so  among 
the  reefers  at  the  mess-table.    If  two  of  them  were 


MERRY  TERRY. 


sky-larking  or  quarrelling,  or  doing  anything  un- 
gentlemanly,  Merry  would  just  look  at  them,  and 
they  would  leave  off  at  once,  and  droop  their  heads 
like  a  dog- vane  in  a  calm. 

I  said  every  body  loved  him.  I  remember  once, 
when  we  were  beating  up  the  Straits,  with  a  Levanter 
dead  ahead,  and  blowing  so  heavy  it  almost  took 
the'  buttons  off  our  jackets,  Merry,  some  how  or 
other,  happened  to  fall  overboard.  He  had  been 
standing  on  the  tafFrel,  with  his  quadrant  in  his  hand, 
trying  to  get  a  chance  at  a  lunar,  when  all  of  a 
sudden  the  old  hulk  made  a  heavy  lee-lurch,  and 
away  he  went  splash  into  the  water.  Though  there 
was  a  sea  running,  like  so  many  mountains  chasing 
each  other,  yet  before  you  could  say  Jack  Robinson, 
no  less  than  four  stout  fellows  were  overboard  after 
him.  It  liked  to  have  gone  hard  with  the  whole 
five,  for  it  was  more  than  the  stoutest  swimmer 
could  do  to  keep  his  head  above  board,  and  before 
we  could  clear  away  the  stern  boat — and  we  didn't 
stop  to  cast  off  the  gripes,  you  may  be  sure,  but 
cut  and  slashed  away — they  were  almost  out  of 
sight  to  leeward.  Old  Tom  Bowman,  the  quarter- 
gunner,  and  Bill  Williams,  the  captain  of  the  fo'castle, 
made  out  to  reach  Merry  just  as  he  was  going  down 
the  last  time ;  and  though  it  was  as  much  as  their 
own  lives  were  worth,  they  held  him  up  till  the  boat 
came  to  their  assistance,  I  well  remember  the  joy 
of  all  hands  when  the  boat  pulled  up  under  the  stern, 


MERRY  TERRY. 


Hi 


near  enough  for  'em  to  see  that  Merry  was  in  it; 
and  when  they  hooked  on  the  tackles,  I  don't  b'lieve 
that  ever  a  ship's  crew  crowded  round  the  bull,  when 
word  was  passed  to  splice  the  main  brace,  with  as 
much  good  will  as  ours  ran  away  with  the  falls  that 
evening  in  hoisting  up  the  jolly-boat  that  had  saved 
Merry  Terry. 

The  day  Merry  first  came  aboard  our  craft  is  as 
fresh  in  my  mind  as  if  it  was  yesterday,  and  a  snug, 
trim-built  little  fellow  he  was,  too,  as  ever  broke  a 
a  biscuit,  or  went  coxswain  of  a  captain's  gig.  He 
was  then  about  as  old  as  rosy  Willy  here,  and  much 
such  another ;  only  he  was  taunter  built,  and  broad- 
er in  the  bows,  and  carried  sail  more  man-of-war 
fashion.  His  eye  was  as  blue  as  the  sea  in  the 
tropics,  and  as  bright  as  the  tropic  sea  sometimes  is 
at  night,  when  it  seems  all  on  fire.  His  head  was 
covered  with  dark  hair,  that  lay  as  thick  and  close 
as  the  nap  on  this  monkey-jacket ;  and  his  skin  was 
so  white  and  soft,  that  it  always  seemed  a  pity  when 
I  saw  him  standing  his  watch  in  the  heat  of  the  sun, 
and  his  plump  little  cheeks  looking  as  red  as  if  the 
blood  was  going  to  start  right  through  them.  How. 
ever,  he  didn't  mind  it  the  value  of  a  scupper  nail, 
and  I  don't  know  but  it  did  him  good,  for  he  grew 
handsomer  as  he  got  a  little  tanned,  and  seemed 
never-  happier  than  when  he  was  on  duty.  He  was 
a  little  green  at  first,  of  course,  but  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  getting  the  weathergage  of  Merry,  for 


MERRY  TERRY. 


as  sure  as  an  older  reefer  tried  to  run  a  rig  on  him> 
he  would  just  cock  up  his  bright  blue  eye,  and  see 
what  the  other  was  up  to  in  the  turn  of  a  glass. 

It  was  a  long  cruise  that  we  were  together,  and 
Merry  got  to  be  as  much  of  a  man  in  size  and  ap- 
pearance as  any  of  us,  before  it  was  over,  though 
he  couldn't  have  been  more  than  eighteen  then.  On 
our  arrival  in  New- York  most  of  the  middies  got 
their  walking  papers  as  soon  as  they  could,  and 
made  sail  each  for  his  home.  Merry's  connexions 
lived  in  Virginia,  and  it  was  that  way  he  laid  his 
course,  you  may  be  sure.  I  remember  very  well 
the  morning  when  I  had  the  third  cutter  called 
away  and  manned  for  him ;  and  as  we  wrung  each 
other's  hand  at  the  gangway,  neither  of  us  had  voice 
enough  to  say  good-by.  My  stomach  felt  all  that 
day  as  empty  as  a  midshipman's  locker,  and  the 
ship  seemed  as  lonesome  to  me  as  the  old  brig  Nancy 
did  once,  when  all  hands  died  off  with  the  yellow 
fever,  and  left  me  and  the  old  tom-cat  the  only  living 
souls  aboard  of  her. 

For  about  two  years  after  Merriville  and  I  parted, 
I  lost  the  run  of  my  old  shipmate.  He  continued 
ashore ;  but  I  soon  got  tired  of  being  cooped  up  in 
narrow  streets,  with  no  chance  of  seeing  more  of  the 
sky  than  chose  to  shine  between  the  tops  of  dingy 
houses.  So,  happening  to  hear  that  some  old  ship- 
mates had  joined  a  craft  then  fitting  out  at  Boston, 
I  applied  for  orders  myself,  and  was  soon  once  more 


MERRY  TERRY. 


69 


where  I  had  sea-room  to  ware  and  haul  upon.  That 
was  a  short  cruise,  and  by  the  time  twenty  months 
were  up  we  were  all  home  again,  the  crew  discharged, 
and  I,  with  my  hands  in  my  beckets,  had  nothing  in 
the  world  to  do,  but  to  spin  street  yarn,  and  spend 
my  nineteen  and  one  like  a  gentleman. 

The  next  ship  I  was  ordered  to  was  my  own 
namesake,  old  Jack  Adams.  She  was  lying  in 
Hampton-roads,  ready  for  sea.  The  first  man  I 
met,  as  I  went  up  the  accommodation  ladder,  was 
Merry  Terry  himself,  who  stood  upon  the  gangway- 
sill  to  receive  me.  I  knew  him  at  a  glance,  though 
he  was  a  good  deal  altered ;  and  he  knew  me,  too, 
as  soon  as  he  clapt  eyes  on  me.  Merry  was  by 
this  time  about  twenty  years  of  age,  or  thereabouts, 
and  a  finer  looking  fellow  never  trod  the  quarter- 
deck. He  had  lately  lost  both  his  parents,  and  this 
had  given  a  sort  of  sad  expression  to  his  counte- 
nance that  made  him  appear  handsomer  than  ever. 
I  soon  found  he  was  the  general  favourite  on  board, 
as  indeed  he  always  was,  go  where  he  would ;  and 
it  was  expected  that  before  we  sailed  he  would  get 
his  parchment  from  Washington,  and  mount  a  swab. 
An  elegant  luff  he  would  have  made,  too,  for  if  ever 
man  knew  how  to  work  a  ship,  it  was  Merry  Terry. 
When  he  had  the  deck,  the  old  craft  herself  seemed 
to  know  it ;  and  no  matter  what  kind  of  weather  we 
had,  she  was  sure  to  behave  as  obedient  as  a  side- 
boy.    I  have  seen  him  put  her  in  stays  where  there 


TO 


MERRY  TERRY. 


wasn't  a  breaker  of  water  to  spare,  with  rocks  a* 
head  and  a-stern,  and  the  wind  whizzing  round  and 
round,  like  a  bee  in  a  tar  bucket.  But  when  it  was 
"helm's  a-lee,"  and  Merry  had  the  trumpet,  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  missing  stays. 

I  mind  I  told  you  a  while  ago  that  every  body 
liked  Merry  Terry,  except  one  man — that  man  was 
the  skipper.  Somehow  or  other  he  hated  hirn  worse 
than  the  devil  hates  a  marine.  He  used  to  ride  him 
down  like  a  main  tack,  and  would  row  him  on  all  oc- 
casions, and  put  him  on  all  sorts  of  disagreeable  duty. 
It  was  even  thought  he  had  clapped  a  stopper  on  his 
promotion.  The  story  among  the  reefers  went  that 
Merry  had  come  athwart  the  captain's  hawse  in 
some  love  affair ;  but  whether  that  was  so  or  not 
was  mere  dead-reckoning,  for  Merry  was  as  close 
as  an  oyster,  and  never  spoke  a  disrespectful  word 
of  his  commander.  In  return  for  all  the  abuse  he 
received,  he  would  only  curl  his  lip  a  little,  and  look 
at  him  dead  in  the  eyes — but  such  a  look  as  he 
would  sometimes  give  him !  I  would  rather,  for  my 
part,  have  been  on  short  allowance  of  grog  for  a 
month. 

Well,  things  went  on  in  this  way  for  some  weeks, 
till  at  last  sailing  orders  were  given  out ;  and  then 
of  course  there  was  no  more  going  ashore  for  the 
middies.  The  boats  were  run  up  and  stowed ;  pole 
to'gallant-masts  struck;  storm  stumps  sent  up  in 
their  places ;  all  hands  were  called  to  unmoor,  and  we 


MERRY  TERRY. 


71 


even  hove  short,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  trip  and  sheet 
home,  whenever  word  should  come  from  the  cabin 
to  that  effect.  When  all  this  was  done,  the  captain 
sent  up  an  order  to  have  his  gig  lowered  away  and 
manned,  and  directly  after  came  on  deck  himself  in 
a  full  rig  of  citizen's  togs.  Merry  Terry  stood  in 
the  gangway,  leaning  over  the  hammock  cloth, 
when  the  boatswain's  mate  piped  away  the  gigs,  and 
as  the  familiar  sound  struck  his  ear,  I  noticed  that  he 
started  and  turned  pale.  It  was  a  glorious  night — 
much  such  an  evening  as  this,  only  later,  about  two 
or  three  bells  in  the  first  watch,  I  think.  As  the 
captain  passed  over  the  gangway,  he  gave  a  peculiar 
kind  of  a  look  at  Merry — much  such  a  look  as  a 
monkey  would  at  a  marine  after  stealing  his  pipe- 
clay— and  then  turning  round  to  the  first  luff,  he 
said — "Remember,  Mr.  Orlop,  that  you  are  under 
sailing-orders,  and  that  no  one  must  leave  the  ship 
on  any  pretence."  As  he  spoke  this  he  turned  an- 
other malicious  glance  at  Merry  out  of  the  corner 
of  his  eye,  and  jumping  into  the  stern-sheets  of  the 
gig,  ordered  the  men  to  shove  off  and  let  fall. 

As  long  as  the  sound  of  the  oars  in  the  rowlocks 
could  be  heard,  Merry  stood  as  still  as  a  stock-fish, 
his  eye  following  the  wake  of  the  boat  till  it  was 
lost  in  the  haze  of  distance.  When  he  could  neither 
hear- nor  see  it  any  longer,  he  began  to  walk  about 
as  wild  as  the  devil  in  a  gale  of  wind ;  and  the 
reefers,  who  would  gladly  have  done  anything  they 


72 


MERRY  TERRY. 


could  to  soothe  him,  saw  clear  enough  that  it  wasn't 
a  matter  for  them  to  meddle  with.  In  the  midst  of 
his  agitation,  a  shore-boat  came  alongside,  the  water- 
man in  which  handed  a  note  up  to  the  middy  who 
went  to  the  gangway  to  receive  it,  and  immediately 
shoved  off  again.  The  note,  of  course,  was  given 
to  the  officer  of  the  deck,  according  to  man-of-war 
fashion,  and  he  being  a  stately,  pompous  sort  of  a 
fellow,  took  his  own  time  to  send  one  of  the  side- 
boys  for  a  lantern.  When  the  glim  came  up,  he 
walked  to  the  fife-rail,  and  looking  at  the  superscrip- 
tion, discovered  that  it  was  directed  to  Merry  Terry. 
The  latter  eagerly  extended  his  hand  for  it,  and 
tearing  it  open,  rapidly  devoured  the  contents ;  then 
rushing  to  the  gangway,  he  would  have  sprung  into 
the  shore-boat,  which  he  hoped  was  still  alongside ; 
but  during  the  officer  of  the  deck's  delay  it  had  al- 
ready got  far  beyond  hailing  distance.  Three  or  four 
times  Merry  paced  up  and  down  the  deck  in  violent 
agitation,  his  lip  as  white  and  quivering  as  a  jib  in 
the  wind,  and  his  eyes  shining  like  the  top-glim  of  a 
Commodore's  ship.  All  at  once  he  walked  right  up 
to  the  first  luff,  who  was  standing  abaft,  leaning  on 
the  taffrel,  and  in  a  voice  that  seemed  to  come  from 
the  cable-tier,  it  was  so  hoarse  and  deep,  he  said, 

"Mr.  Orlop,  I  must  go  ashore  to-night." 

"  You  cannot,  Mr.  Terry,  you  heard  the  captain's 
orders." 

"Damn  the  captain!"    (It  was  the  first  word  I 


MERRY  TERRY. 


ever  heard  Merry  swear,  though  he  and  I  had  been 
messmates  going  on  five  years.) 

"Mr.  Terry,  you  forget  yourself !"  answered  the 
first  luff,  in  a  firm,  yet  mild  tone.  "  If  you  use  such 
language,  sir,  you  will  force  me  to  a  disagreeable 
exercise  of  my  duty." 

"  I  mean  no  disrespect  to  you,  Mr.  Orlop,"  said 
Merry,  partly  recollecting  himself ;  "  but  I  am  half 
distracted.  If  you  will  lend  me  your  ear,  sir,  in  a 
more  private  part  of  the  ship,  I  will  relate  to  you 
what  may  perhaps  change  your  notions  of  duty." 

Mr.  Orlop  was  one  of  your  right  sort  of  officers. 
He  could  talk  rope  and  box  his  compass  with  any 
luff  in  the  service,  and  when  there  was  need  of  dig* 
nity,  he  was  as  stiff  as  a  commodore ;  but  besides 
the  knowledge  and  skill  of  an  able  seaman,  he  had 
the  feelings  and  address  of  a  perfect  gentleman.  He, 
as  well  as  every  body  else  on  board,  had  seen,  and 
felt  indignant  at  the  treatment  Merry  received  from 
the  captain;  and  some  of  the  whispers  as  to  the 
cause  had  also  reached  him.  Perceiving  that  poor 
Merry  was  now  uncommonly  agitated,  and  all  a-hoo, 
like  a  Dutchman's  anchor,  and  fearing  that  he  might 
commit  some  indiscretion  which  would  call  for  an 
unpleasant  exercise  of  authority,  he  readily  com* 
plied  with  his  request,  and  led  the  way  to  his  own 
state-room. 

The  conference,  whatever  was  its  nature,  was  of 
short  duration ;  but  while  it  lasted,  many  a  curious 
E 


74 


MERRY  TERRY, 


glance  was  cast  towards  the  state-room  door,  and- — 
I'm  most  ashamed  to  own  it — many  a  listening  ear 
was  inclined  towards  the  bulk-head.  There  was 
little  satisfaction  got  that  way,  however,  for  nothing 
was  heard  but  a  low,  humming  sound,  now  and  then 
broken  by  a  muttered  curse,  in  Mr.  Orlop's  voice ; 
and  ended  at  last  by  a  sudden  exclamation  of  that 
gentleman,  loud  enough  for  the  whole  steerage  to 
hear — ay,  and  birth -deck  in  the  bargain. 

"  Enough,  Mr.  Terry,  enough !"  cried  he.  "  You 
shall  have  it — if  it  costs  me  my  commission,  you 
shall  have  it !  There  is  a  point  where  obedience 
ceases  to  be  a  duty.  When  military  discipline  con- 
flicts with  the  principles  of  honour,  I  will  be  the  first 
to  set  an  example  of  insubordination." 

As  he  spoke  thus,  the  door  of  the  state-room  was 
thrown  open  with  a  surge,  and  the  two  officers  hove 
suddenly  in  sight.  The  cheek  and  lips  of  Merry 
were  still  pale  and  quivering,  while  the  face  of  the 
other  was  flushed  with  a  deep  red.  They  both 
hazed  up  the  companion-ladder  as  fast  as  if  the  drum 
was  beating  to  quarters,  Mr.  Orlop  scarcely  stopping, 
as  he  sung  out  to  me — 

"  Mr.  Palmer,"  said  he,  "  call  the  boatswain,  and 
order  him  to  get  the  first  cutter  out  immediately.  Do 
you  attend  yourself,  sir,  on  the  birth-deck,  and  start 
up  all  the  men !" 

By  this  time,  his  foot  was  on  the  top  step  of  the 


MERRY  TERRY. 


75 


ladder.    As  soon  as  his  head  was  fairly  above  the 
combings  of  the  hatch,  he  began  again : 
"Boatswain's  mate!" 

"Sir !"  sung  out  old  Reuben  James,  in  his  pecu- 
liar drawl. 

"  Call  away  the  first  cutters,  and  do  you  stand  by 
and  see  to  getting  up  the  yard-tackles. — Captain  of 
the  fo'castle,  there!" 

"Sir!"  bawled  the  captain  of  both  starboard  and 
larboard  watch  at  once,  startled  at  the  loudness  and 
earnestness  of  the  first  lieutenant's  voice. 

"Lay  aloft,  and  stand  by  to  get  your  yard-tackles 
on  the  fore-yard ! — Quarter  gunners,  do  you  hear  ? 
do  you  do  the  same  on  the  main ! — Foretop,  there ! 
out  on  the  yard  with  you,  and  send  down  a  whip 
for  the  yard- tackle  block!" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir!"  promptly  answered  a  voice  from 
the  foretop ;  and  with  these  and  similar  orders  and 
replies,  mixed  with  the  shrill  pipings  of  the  boatswain 
and  his  mates,  the  spar-deck  now  resounded  for  seve- 
ral minutes,  while  the  men  jumped  here  and  there 
like  a  gang  of  green-horns  in  a  squall.  But  though 
to  an  inexperienced  eye  all  might  have  seemed  con- 
fusion, yet  every  man  knew  ftis  own  station  and 
duty,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  the  cutter  was 
hoisted  out,  and  brought  to  at  the  gangway.  She 
was  no  sooner  there  than  Merry  Terry  sprang  down 
the  side,  and  the  crew  after ;  who,  though  they 
wondered  as  much  as  all  the  rest  of  us,  officers  and 


76 


MERRY  TERR Ye 


men,  how  all  this  was  to  end,  yet  seeing  they  would 
oblige  their  favourite  by  moving  lively,  they  shoved 
off  and  had  up  their  oars  in  the  crossing  of  a  royal. 

"Mr.  Terry,"  cried  the  first  lieutenant,  "remem- 
ber your  word  of  honour  that  you  will  return  to- 
night, provided  you  find  or  make  all  safe !" 

"  Upon  my  honour,"  answered  Merry,  laying  his 
hand  on  his  heart :  then  turning  quickly  to  the  men, 
"Let  fall,"  he  cried,  "give  way!"  and  as  long  as 
we  could  hear  him,  he  kept  saying  every  now  and 
then,  "  give  way,  my  hearties,  give  way — pull  with 
a  will,"  and  such  like. 

And  they  did  give  way,  too.  They  were  a  set  of 
as  stout  oarsmen  as  ever  manned  a  frigate's  first 
cutter ;  but  they  never  showed  themselves  afore  as 
they  did  that  night.  The  boat  fairly  jumped  out  of 
the  water  every  clip,  and  the  foam  she  dashed  off 
from  her  bows  formed  a  long,  white  streak  in  her 
wake,  as  bright  and  dazzling  as  the  trail  of  a  Con- 
greve  rocket.  You  may  think  it  wasn't  many  mi- 
nutes before  they  reached  the  shore,  going  at  that 
rate  as  if  the  devil  kick'd  'em  an  end.  Merry 
steered  her  right  head  on,  and  never  cried  "rowed 
of  all,"  till  she  struck  the  sandy  beach  with  such 
force  that  she  ran  up  high  and  dry,  pitching  the  two 
bow  oarsmen,  who  had  got  up  to  fend  off,  about  half 
a  cable's  length  from  her.  At  the  first  grating  of 
the  keel  upon  the  gravel,  he  leaped  ashore,  and 
without  stopping  to  say  one  word  to  the  meji,  dart- 


MERRY  TERRY. 


77 


ed  off  like  a  wounded  porpoise.  For  two  or  three 
minutes,  the  boat's  crew  looked  at  each  other  with 
their  eyes  stretched  wide  open,  like  the  mouth  of  a 
dying  fish,  as  much  as  to  say,  what  the  devil's  all 
this  ?  And  then  they  began  to  consult  together  in  a 
low  grumbling  tone,  as  if  they  were  afraid  to  hear 
themselves  speak,  till  at  last  Bill  Williams,  who  was 
coxswain  of  the  cutter,  offered  a  suggestion  that  met 
the  approval  of  the  rest. 

"  Damn  my  chain-plates,"  said  he,  "  only  hark 
how  his  feet  go  clatter-clatter-clatter,  as  fast  as  the 
flopping  of  a  jib-sheet  in  the  wind.  I'm  afear'd,  my 
hearties,  that  Mr.  Terry's  running  'mongst  the 
breakers,  and  if  you'll  stay  by  the  boat,  I'll  give 
chase — and,  if  so  needs  be,  lend  him  a  lift." 

The  proposal  of  the  honest  coxswain  was  relished 
by  his  comrades,  and  he  accordingly  ran  up  the 
bank,  and  followed  in  the  same  direction  that  his 
young  officer  had  taken.  But  Bill  Williams,  though 
he  could  run  about  a  ship's  rigging  like  a  monkey 
in  mischief,  was  no  match  for  Merry  in  a  land  chase. 
His  sea-legs  was'nt  used  to  such  business,  and  he 
went  pitching  and  heaving  a-head  like  a  Dutch 
lugger  afore  the  wind,  and  seemed,  at  every  step, 
to  be  watching  for  the  weather  roll. 

In  the  mean  time,  Merry  linked  it  off  like  a  Balti- 
more clipper  going  large.    He  had  run  perhaps 
about  a  mile  from  the  boat,  along  the  road  which 
he  struck  into  directly  after  leaving  the  beach,  and 
E2 


78 


MERRY  TERRYT 


instead  of  shortening  sail,  appeared  to  be  crowding 
more  and  more  canvass  all  the  time,  when  all  of  a 
sudden,  he  luffed  up,  and  hove  to,  on  hearing  the  clat- 
ter of  an  approaching  carriage.  The  noise  of  the 
wheels  sounded  nearer  and  nearer,  as  they  came 
rattling  along  the  rough  road,  and  it  wasn't  long 
before  the  quick  trampling  of  the  horses,  and  the 
clicking  of  their  shoes  against  the  stones,  indicated 
that  they  were  close  aboard.  The  place  were 
Merry  lay  to  was  about  midships  of  a  steep  hill,  and 
if  he  had  picked  out  the  spot  it  couldn't  have  been 
better  suited  to  his  purpose.  The  road,  which  had 
been  rough  and  uneven  from  the  first,  was  at  this 
point  broken  into  deep  gullies  by  recent  heavy 
rains,  rendering,  apart  from  the  difficulty  of  the 
ascent,  extreme  caution  necessary  in  passing  with  a 
vehicle.  On  one  side,  a  steep  wooded  bank  rose  to 
a  considerable  height ;  and  on  the  other,  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  gradually  descended  to  the  water, 
which  was  not  quite  excluded  from  view  by  a  few 
scattering  trees,  that  occupied  the  intermediate  space. 

Behind  one  of  these  trees,  which  grew  close  to  the 
road-side,  and  threw  a  deep  shadow  over  it,  Merry, 
gritting  and  grinding  his  teeth,  crouched  down,  like 
a  young  shark  watching  for  his  prey.  The  carriage 
had  already  gained  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  was 
slowly  labouring  up,  when  a  deep  gruff  voice  from 
within  cried  out  to  the  driver,  bidding  him  drive 
faster.    At  the  sound  of  that  voice,  Merry's  eyes 


MERRY  TERRY. 


79 


[airly  flashed  fire.  The  coachman,  with  instinctive 
obedience,  cracked  his  whip,  and  was  about  to 
make  a  more  effectual  application  of  it,  when  his 
eyes  encountered  a  figure  which  suddenly  sprang 
from  the  road-side,  and  seizing  the  reins,  command- 
ed him  to  halt !  The  command,  however,  was 
scarcely  necessary.  The  jaded  horses  had  reached 
a  short  level  stage  in  the  ascent,  and  not  even  the 
sound  of  the  whip  had  induced  them  to  budge 
tack  or  sheet.  Merry,  with  a  sailor's  quick 
eye,  saw  this  favourable  circumstance,  and  in  an 
instant  was  at  the  side  of  the  carriage,  within 
which  a  voice  of  a  very  different  tone  from 
that  which  before  issued  thence,  was  earnestly 
beseeching  succour. 

"  Help !  for  heaven's  sake,  help  !  save  me  from 
a  ruffian!"  cried  a  female,  in  imploring  accents. 

The  last  words  were  scarcely  articulate,  and 
were  uttered  with  a  smothered  sound,  accompa- 
nied with  a  noise  of  struggling,  as  if  the  ruffian 
was  endeavouring  to  hold  the  lady  still,  and  to 
silence  her  cries  by  pressing  his  hand  upon  her 
mouth. 

The  incentive  of  this  well  known  voice  seemed 
hardly  wanting  to  add  more  fury  to  the  rage  of 
Merriville.  Choking  with  mingled  emotions,  he 
called  to  the  ruffian  to  hold  off  his  hand,  and,  with 
an  effort  of  desperate  strength  tearing  open  the  door, 
the  fastenings  of  which  he  did  not  understand,  he 
E3 


80 


MERRY  TERRY. 


seized  the  inmate  by  the  collar,  and  dragged  him  to 
the  ground. 

"  Seducer ! — scoundrel ! — ruffian !"  he  cried,  "  I 
have  you  in  the  toils,  and  dearly  you  shall  rue  this 
night's  work !" 

"  Mr.  Terry ! — I  command — you  shall  suffer  for 
this — a  court-martial — "  and  various  other  broken 
ejaculations  were  uttered  by  the  wretch,  who  vio- 
lently struggled  to  get  loose  from  the  firm  grasp  in 
which  he  was  held.  Merriville,  though  not  of  a 
robust  constitution,  yet  possessed  much  .  muscular 
strength.  In  the  present  contest  every  fibre  re- 
ceived tenfold  vigour  from  the  energy  of  his  feelings, 
making  him  an  overmatch  for  the  guilty  being  who 
writhed  within  his  arms.  The  faces  of  both  were 
inflamed  and  convulsed  with  violent  passions,  though 
of  a  widely  acd  obviously  different  character ;  for 
the  rage  of  the  one,  though  fierce  as  ten  furies,  had 
yet  something  noble  and  commanding  in  it,  while 
that  of  the  other  seemed  kindled  by  a  demon.  The 
clear  round  moon  shone  down  on  the  occurrence 
with  a  silvery  brightness,  which,  while  it  made  every 
feature  of  the  scene  perfectly  visible,  imparted 
to  the  pallid  faces,  glaring  eyeballs,  and  quivering 
lips  of  the  combatants  a  more  ghastly  and  terrible 
expression  than  they  derived  from  their  own  wild 
passions.  The  captain  (for  it's  useless  to  tell  you 
it  was  he)  struggled  hard,  but  was  evidently  be- 
coming exhausted.    In  the  excess  of  his  emotion  he 


MERRY  TERRY. 


81 


md  bitten  his  lip  nearly  in  two,  and  the  blood  which, 
in  their  tossing  to  and  fro,  had  been  smeared  over  the 
faces  and  clothes  of  both,  added  to  the  wildness  of 
their  appearance. 

The  female,  who  by  this  time  had  recovered 
from  the  swoon  into  which  she  fell  when  she  first 
heard  the  voice  of  Merriville,  now  screamed  as  she 
saw  the  blood  with  which  he  was  profusely  stained, 
and  probably  imagining  him  mortally  wound- 
ed, she  sprang  from  the  carriage,  and  tottered 
towards  him  across  the  road.  A  sudden  movement 
of  the  two  combatants,  at  the  same  moment,  changed 
their  position  so  as  to  bring  the  back  of  Merriville 
towards  the  approaching  figure,  and  at  that  instant, 
his  antagonist,  succeeding  in  releasing  an  arm  from 
his  grasp,  hastily  drew  a  pistol  from  his  pocket, 
cocked,  and  fired  it.  The  ball  whizzed  through  the 
air,  only  slightly  grazing  the  neck  of  the  intended 
victim ;  but  a  piercing  shriek  from  the  lips  of  the  fe- 
male, heard  above  the  loud  report,  announced  that 
it  had  done  more  fatal  execution  in  another  quarter. 
As  if  by  mutual  consent,  both  parties  ceased  from 
their  struggle  for  a  moment,  and  rushed  towards  her. 
She  staggered  two  or  three  steps  forward,  mumbled 
a  few  scarce  audible  wrords,  among  which  the  name 
of  Merriville  was  the  only  intelligible  sound,  and  fell 
bleeding  to  the  earth.  The  horses,  in  the  mean  while, 
scared  by  the  near  and  loud  report  of  the  pistol, 


pranced  suddenly  round,  and  dashing  down  the  hill, 
were  soon  lost  ::  sight. 

Poor  Merriville,  with  a  groan  of  agony,  which  he 
could  not,  which  he  did  not  seek  to  repress,  bent 
over  the  form  which  lay  stretched  and  pale  before 
him,  and  raising  it  partly  from  the  ground, 
gazed  for  a  stupid  moment,  in  utter  unconsciousness 
of  all  things  else,  upon  the  features  of  her  still  lovely 
face.  The  ball  had  passed  directly  through  the 
heart,  from  which  life  had  already  bubbled  out  in  a 
crimson  tide,  though  a  few  darker  drops  continued 
to  ooze  from  the  livid  orifice  of  the  wound.  Merri- 
ville  whispered  her  Lame,  but  sue  answered  not.  In 
vain  he  leaned  his  ear  to  her  lips,  or  bent  his  eyes 
upon  them,  till  the  hot  tearless  balls  seemed  burst- 
ing from  their  sockets — no  sound,  no  motion,  made 
reply.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  her  heart — but  its 
pulse  was  still.  He  looked  into  her  eyes — but  they 
returned  not.  as  they  were  wont,  an  answering  look : 
their  light  had  gone  out — the  spirit  rid  departed 
from  its  house  of  day — she  was  dead,  quite  dead! 

As  this  net  impressed  itself  upon  his  brain,  a 
maddening  consciousness  of  the  cause  seemed  slowly 
to  return ;  his  eyes  rolled  up  till  the  balls  were  al- 
most hid,  his  face  became  of  a  livid  darkness,  and 
his  teeth  were  clenched  together,  like  those  of  one 
in  mortal  agony.  Starting  up.  he  turned  suddenly 
round,  and  w.tn  his  arms  extend d.  and  his  lingers 
curved  like  the  talons  of  an  eagle,  he  sprang  towards 


MEfeRV  TERRYi 


m 


his  guilty  commander.  The  motion  seemed  to  have 
been  anticipated,  for  the  wretch  had  prepared  him- 
self with  a  second  pistol,  which,  as  his  antagonist  ap- 
proached, he  deliberately  aimed  at  him,  and  fired. 
Whether  the  ball  took  effect  or  not,  it  did  not  defeat 
poor  Merry's  object.  He  darted  like  a  hungry 
tiger  on  the  wretch,  and  with  both  hands  seizing  him 
round  the  throat,  he  dragged  him  down  to  the  earth. 
In  vain  his  victim  struggled — the  sinews  of  his  an- 
tagonist seemed  hardened  into  steel.  He  tried  to 
shriek  for  aid,  but  the  grasp  around  his  neck  choked 
his  utterance,  and  his  words  died  away  in  a  rattling 
sound,  like  the  gurgling  in  the  throat  of  a  drowning 
man.  With  a  strength  that  seemed  supernatural, 
Merriville  raised  him  from  the  earth,  and  dragged 
him  along  the  road.  The  struggling  of  the  wretch- 
ed man  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  but  still  an  occa- 
sional convulsive  quivering  of  the  limbs  told  that  he 
lived.  His  face  was  almost  black,  his  tongue  lolled 
out  of  his  mouth  like  a  dog's,  and  his  eyes,  blood- 
shot and  glassy,  protruded  in  a  hideous  manner  from 
their  sockets.  Blood  had  started  from  his  nostrils  in 
his  mortal  agony,  and  a  thick  wreath  of  mingled 
blood  and  foam  stood  upon  his  lips,  which,  wide  dis- 
tended, seemed  stretched  in  a  horrid  laugh. 

In  silence,  and  with  a  strength  that  seemed  more 
than  human,  Merriville  continued  to  drag  his  victim 
along,  till  he  reached  the  boat.  He  had  been  met 
by  Williams  not  far  from  the  scene  of  the  first  part 


84 


MERRY  TERRY. 


of  the  contest,  but  he  appeared  not  to  see  him, 
Williams  on  his  part  was  too  much  awed  to  speak. 
The  firing  of  the  pistols  had  prepared  him  for  some 
fatal  event ;  for  he  had  a  dim  and  dark  suspicion  of 
the  object  of  Merriville's  errand,  inasmuch  as  he  had 
been  the  bearer  of  several  notes  between  him  and  his 
betrothed ;  and  had  heard,  also,  that  his  captain  was 
a  rejected  suitor  for  the  same  hand.  One  glance  at 
the  group  served  to  show  him  the  dreadful  nature  of 
the  burden  Merriville  dragged  along  with  him :  he 
saw  that  his  commander  was  already  a  corpse,  and 
besides,  he  was  too  much  intimidated  by  the  un- 
natural lustre  of  Merriville's  eye,  by  his  pallid  and 
unearthly  hue,  and  by  his  still  and  terrible  bearing, 
to  interrupt  the  silence  with  a  word.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  boat,  Williams  waved  his  hand  to  the 
crew,  who  were  anxiously  waiting  on  the  beach, 
and  signified  by  an  expressive  nod  that  they  must 
not  speak.  Silently  and  sorrowfully  they  followed 
their  young  officer  to  the  water's  edge,  entered  after 
him  the  boat,  and  commenced  rowing  back  to  the 
ship.  Poor  Terry,  still  holding  the  body  by  the 
throat,  took  his  seat  in  the  stern-sheets,  and  leaned 
his  head  down  on  the  gunwale  in  such  a  way  that 
his  garments  concealed  his  face.  The  face  of  the 
corpse,  however,  was  exposed  in  the  broad  moon- 
light ;  and  as  the  head  hung  partly  over  the  seat, 
with  its  features  distorted  and  bloody,  its  hair  matted 
with  clots  of  blood  and  earth,  and  its  glassy  eyeballs 


MERRY  TERRY. 


85 


apparently  staring  at  the  men,  a  superstitious  shud- 
der crept  over  them,  which,  with  all  their  manhood, 
they  could  not  repress. 

In  this  way,  and  in  silence,  they  drew  near  the 
ship.  The  sentinel  hailed  them ;  but  no  answer  was 
returned.  As  they  came  to  at  the  gangway,  the 
officer  of  the  deck  called  Mr.  Terry  by  name  -T  but 
still  no  reply.  He  saw  by  the  terror  painted  on  the 
countenances  of  the  crew  that  something  dreadful 
had  occurred,  and  descended  quickly  into  the  boat, 
where  the  whole  terrible  truth  was  soon  ascertained. 
They  were  both  dead !  By  the  discharge  of  the 
second  pistol,  Merriville  had  been  mortally  wounded, 
and  his  life  had  oozed  away,  while  his  hands  were 
still  clasped  with  desperate  energy  round  the  throat 
of  his  victim.  Even  after  death  his  fingers  did  not 
lose  their  tenacity.  The  officer  tried  to  unlock  the 
death-grasp  but  without  effect ;  and  the  two  bodies 
locked  in  an  embrace,  which,  stronger  than  that  of 
love,  had  outlasted  life,  were  obliged  to  be  hoisted 
up  together. 

Just  as  Jack  Palmer  arrived  at  this  part  of  his 
yarn,  all  hands  were  called  to  stand  by  their  ham- 
mocks,  and  the  bustle  incident  to  that  piece  of  duty 
put  an  abrupt  end  to  his  story. 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


The  devil  himself  will  not  eat  a  woman  ! 

Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

There  are  not  many  names  on  the  list  of  those 
who  have  sacrificed  their  lives  for  freedom  which 
deserve  more  honourable  mention  than  that  of  Riego. 
I  was  in  the  Mediterranean  at  the  time  of  the  brave 
attempt  which  terminated  so  fatally  for  him ;  and  I 
well  remember  how  eagerly  we  sought  every  dis- 
jointed scrap  of  intelligence  which  could  be  gathered 
concerning  the  romantic  adventures  of  Mina  with 
his  little  army  in  Catalonia,  and  the  firm  and  pru- 
dent efforts  of  his  noble  compatriot  Riego.  Old 
Port  Mahon,  according  to  custom,  had  been  chosen 
for  the  winter-quarters  of  our  squadron;  and  though 
the  Mahonese  were  by  no  means  well  affected  to 
the  cause  of  Ferdinand,  yet  the  habitual  caution  and 
reserve  of  those  islanders  prevented  their  giving  a 
very  full  account  of  what  little  they  knew  concern- 
ing the  progress  of  events  on  the  continent.  Such 
drops  of  news  as  dribbled  from  them,  therefore, 
rather  increased  than  quenched  the  flame  of  curiosity. 
This  had  arisen  to  a  great  height,  when  it  was  at 
F 


90 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


last  suddenly  and  sadly  extinguished  by  the  arrival 
of  a  little  polacca  from  Barcelona,  which  brought 
the  melancholy  tidings  of  the  defeat  and  flight  of 
Mina,  and  of  the  capture  and  execution  of  his  bro- 
ther in  arms.  This  vessel  had  been  despatched  to 
Mahon  with  an  official  account  of  the  triumphant 
entry  of  Ferdinand  into  Madrid,  just  six  days  after 
the  inhabitants  of  that  city  had  witnessed  the  public 
termination  of  Riego's  eventful  career. 

There  were  bonfires  and  illuminations  in  Mahon 
on  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence ;  but  these  outward 
demonstrations  of  rejoicing  were  rendered  by  fear, 
not  gladness,  and  were  as  false  as  the  hollow-hearted 
monarch  whose  success  they  were  kindled  to  cele- 
brate. Had  the  despatches  communicated  news  of 
his  death,  and  of  the  triumph  of  the  constitution,  the 
revelry  would  have  been  another  sort  of  affair :  the 
faces  of  the  people,  as  well  as  their  casements,  would 
have  been  lighted  up  for  joy ;  and  hearts,  as  well  as 
feet,  would  have  joined  in  the  bolero  and  fandango, 
and  bounded  to  the  music  of  the  merry  castinets. 

One  evening,  during  these  mock  rejoicings,  I  went 
on  shore  with  Charles  Maitland,  one  of  our  lieu- 
tenants, and  as  fine  a  fellow  as  ever  trod  a  frigate's 
quarter-deck.  He  was  young  in  commission,  having 
been  but  recently  promoted,  after  a  tedious  service 
of  two  whole  lustres  in  the  subordinate  capacity  of 
midshipman,  during  which  period  he  had  been  the 
object  of  a  full  share  of  the  "fantastic  tricks"  which 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


91 


naval  commanders  sometimes  choose  to  play  off  upon 
those  beneath  them.  When  I  say  beneath  them,  I 
mean  this  phrase,  so  far  as  Charles  Maitland  is  con. 
cerned,  to  apply  only  to  the  scale  of  military  grada- 
tion; for  in  any  other  respect  he  was  beneath  no 
man  in  the  service.  It  had  been  his  lot,  as  well  as 
mine,  to  sail  with  a  commander  who  omitted  no  op- 
portunity of  proving  his  title  to  the  nautical  distinc- 
tion he  enjoyed,  of  being  "  the  hardest  horse  in  the 
navy."  But  those  days  were  over  now;  and  the 
more  elevated  rank,  and  more  definite  and  import- 
ant duties  of  a  lieutenant,  secured  him,  in  a  good 
measure,  from  a  renewal  of  such  annoyances. 

Almost  immediately  on  reaching  the  dignity  of  an 
epaulette,  Charles  married  a  sweet  girl,  to  whom  he 
had  been  long  attached,  and  whom  his  narrow  and 
uncertain  resources  had  alone  prevented  him  from 
espousing  before.  I  stood  groomsman  on  the  occa- 
sion ;  and  I  remember  well  how  handsome  the  fellow 
looked,  as  he  led  his  flushing  bride  to  the  altar.  A 
forty-four,  convoying  a  trig,  snug,  clean- rigged  little 
Baltimore  clipper,  could  not  appear  more  stately 
than  he  did  alongside  that  modest  and  well-modelled 
girl.  The  truth  is,  Charley  was  one  of  the  finest 
looking  men  in  the  service — tall,  well-built,  round- 
chested,  with  an  eye  like  an  eagle's,  and  a  mouth,  the 
habitual  smile  of  which,  or  rather  a  slight  pleasant 
curve  approaching  to  a  smile,  denoted  an  excellent 
.disposition.  And  never  did  dog- vane  show  the  course 


92 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


of  the  wind  better  than  that  smile  expressed  his  tern* 
per.    But  I  am  wandering  from  my  story. 

The  honey-moon — that  briefest  moon  which  ever 
sheds  its  light  on  the  matrimonial  state — had  hardly 
yet  begun  to  wane,  when  Charles  was  ordered  to 
sea  in  old  Ironsides.  The  old  craft  was  lying  in  the 
harbour,  her  topsails  loose,  her  anchor  short-stay 
apeak,  and  all  ready  to  trip,  sheet  home,  and  be  on". 
His  name  had  been  pitched  upon  at  the  last  moment, 
to  supply  a  vacancy  left  by  somebody  who  had 
begged  off ;  and  as  there  was  now  no  time  for  remon- 
strance, he  hud  nothing  to  do  but  obey.  I  am  no 
hand  for  painting  scenes  of  the  tender  sort ;  so  I 
leave  Charley's  parting  with  his  young  wife,  and  all 
that,  "  to  sympathetic  imaginations,"  as  the  girl  in 
the  play  has  it. 

But,  avast  a  bit  and  belay  there  !  What  am  I 
doing  all  this  while  ?  A  pretty  piece  of  lee-way  I 
have  made  of  it !  Here  were  we,  a  moment  since, 
snugly  moored  in  the  harbour  of  Mahon,  for  winter- 
quarters  ;  and  now,  in  the  turning  of  a  glass,  have 
I  put  the  Atlantic  between  us  and  the  scene  of  my 
story.  Well,  stations  for  stays  ! — helm's  a-lee,  and 
about  she  goes  !  And  we  must  now  crack  on  all 
sail,  and  make  a  short  cruise  of  it,  till  we  get  back 
to  our  starting  point.  There  is  no  time  for  buck- 
ling knee-buckles,  as  the  boatswain's  mate  says, 
when  he  calls  all  hands  in  a  squall  at  night ;  so,  to 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


98 


make  a  short  story  of  it,  let  it  suffice  to  say,  that 
Charles  bade  adieu  to  his  wife,  old  Ironsides  sailed, 
reached  the  Mediterranean  in  due  time,  went  the 
usual  rounds  over  that  cruising  ground,  (delightful 
cruising  ground  it  is,  by  the  way,)  and  was  now  in 
daily  expectation  of  the  relief-ship,  with  orders  for 
her  to  return  to  the  United  States. 

Well,  as  I  said  before,  Mahon  was  all  in  a  bustle 
on  account  of  the  news  from  the  continent.  Bells 
were  ringing,  music  playing,  bonfires  shone  in 
one  place,  and  illuminations  glittered  in  another. 
Groups  of  people,  of  all  ages  and  conditions,  were  in 
every  square  and  open  place ;  and  the  expression  of 
many  a  pretty  face  that  peeped  from  the  folds 
of  the  red  mantilla,  or  the  scowl  of  many  a  dark 
eye  that  glared  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  sombrero, 
denoted  any  thing  but  pleasure  at  the  intelligence 
which  had  been  received.  Of  all  the  difficult  tasks 
in  this  world,  there  is  none  harder  than  to  put  on  the 
semblance  of  joy  at  .that  which  stirs  righteous  indig- 
nation ;  and  he  who  can  best  dissemble  in  such 
cases — no  matter  how  strong  the  motive — is  not  the 
man  I  should  choose  for  my  friend. 

Well,  Charles  and  I  went  ashore  one  evening,  as 
I  said,  during  the  rejoicings.  We  had  no  other  ob- 
ject in  view  than  to  take  a  long  stroll  together, 
along  the  romantic  shores  of  one  of  the  prettiest  and 
quietest  bays  in  the  world,  and  to  converse  without 
restraint  (that,  at  least,  I  supposed  was  his  motive) 
F2 


94 


THE  MESS-CHEST, 


on  the  topic  which  was  ever  uppermost  in  his  mind. 
We  were  yet  in  the  midst  of  the  town,  and  were 
threading  our  way  through  the  crowd  in  one  of  the 
principal  squares,  when  a  woman — and  a  pretty  old 
one  too,  as  well  as  one  might  judge  by  the  withered 
and  sallow  face  which  her  thread-bare  mantle  was 
so  disposed  as  only  half  to  betray — suddenly  pre- 
sented herself  before  us,  and  whispered  a  single 
word,  in  a  low  guttural  voice,  to  my  companion. 
One  who  has  sat  as  many  long  cold  watches  [as  I 
have  on  the  look-out,  on  the  foretopsail-yard,  na- 
turally has  a  quick  eye ;  and  it  therefore  did  not 
escape  me  that  this  old  woman,  as  she  spoke  to 
Charles,  slipped  a  note  into  his  hand.  She  then 
passed  on,  mixed  with  the  throng,  and  in  an  instant 
disappeared  from  my  following  glance.  In  Spain, 
the  country  of  intrigue  and  romantic  adventure, 
there  was  nothing  so  very  singular  in  this  as  to  justify 
great  surprise ;  and  perhaps  the  circumstance  would 
soon  have  passed  from  my  mind  altogether,  had  not 
subsequent  events,  which  I  could  not  but  consider 
in  some  way  connected  with  it,  kept  it  continually  in 
my  thoughts. 

On  reaching  the  first  convenient  place,  Charles 
paused  to  peruse  the  billet.  Its  contents,  whatever 
they  were,  seemed  to  engage  him  deeply.  He 
stood  pondering  over  the  paper  for  several  moments, 
with  the  air  of  one  in  earnest  and  perplexed  medita- 
tion ;  and  then  suddenly  crumpling  it  in  his  hand, 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


95 


and  thrusting  it  into  his  pocket,  cast  round  him  a 
quick  and  apprehensive  glance,  as  if  fearful  that 
some  one  might  have  overlooked  him.  There  was 
more  confusion  in  his  manner,  and  more  hesitancy  in 
his  speech,  than  I  had  ever  before  seen  him  exhibit, 
when  he  approached  me,  a  moment  or  two  after  this, 
and  said  that  an  unexpected  engagement  would 
oblige  him  to  forgo  the  intended  walk,  and  leave  me 
to  pursue  my  way  alone. 

I  had  known  Charles  Maitland  from  a  boy.  We 
had  studied  our  lessons  on  the  same  form ;  had  shot 
our  marbles  into  the  same  ring ;  had  entered  the 
navy  within  a  few  weeks  of  each  other ;  had  been 
shipmates  and  messmates  through  two  long  and 
eventful  cruises,  and  a  good  part  of  the  time  had 
been  watchmates.  I  knew  that  he  had  a  soul  of 
honour  ;  that  his  principles  were  well  established, 
his  head  clear,  his  morality  nice,  and  that  he  loved 
his  young  wife  with  the  most  ardent  attachment. 
Yet  for  all  this,  I  could  not  help  feeling  a  certain  in* 
definite  fear  that  there  was  something  wrong  con- 
nected with  that  note.  It  could  not  be  a  challenge ; 
for  he  was  beloved  by  all  the  officers  in  the  squad- 
ron, and  I  was  very  sure  he  had  not  been  embroiled 
in  any  quarrel  on  shore.  Besides,  if  it  were  so,  he 
would  have^applied  to  me  as  his  friend ; — and  then, 
again,  women  are  not  chosen  as  bearers  of  such  mes- 
sages. Yet  that  the  subject,  whatever  it  might  be, 
was  of  no  ordinary  kind,  was  evident  from  the  im- 
F3 


m 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


pression  which  the  perusal  occasioned,  and  not  less 
evident  from  his  withholding  the  matter  from  me. 
Our  communion  had  always  been  of  the  most  frank 
and  unreserved  description ;  we  had  been  sharers 
of  each  other's  thoughts,  sentiments,  and  wishes, 
from  boyhood  up ;  I  had  been  in  his  full  confidence 
through  his  whole  course  of  wooing;  and  indeed, 
until  the  present  moment,  he  had  never  shown  a 
desire  to  keep  any  thing  from  my  knowledge.  Re- 
flections of  this  kind  caused  me  to  give  undue  im- 
portance, perhaps,  to  the  circumstance  which  had 
just  occurred*  I  began  to  fear  that  Charles  was  in 
some  way  concerned  in  an  unworthy  adventure ;  and 
a  vague  suspicion,  which  I  did  not  like  to  entertain, 
and  yet  could  not  altogether  reject,  took  possession 
of  my  mind,  that  a  woman  was  at  the  bottom  of  it. 
I  turned  with  a  slow  step  towards  the  quay,  and 
descended  the  long  lateral  road  that  is  excavated 
from  the  perpendicular  cliff  which  overlooks  the 
bay,  humming,  as  I  went,  "  Though  love  is  warm 
awhile,"  &c. 

From  this  day  forward,  Charles's  visits  to  the 
shore  were  more  frequent  than  before,  but  always 
in  the  evening,  and  now  he  invariably  went  alone. 
If  other  officers  happened  to  go  in  the  same  boat,  he 
was  sure  to  separate  himself  from  them  on  reaching 
the  quay,  and  pursue  a  direction  different  from  the 
rest.  This  soon  came  to  bo  noticed,  and  to  be  talked 
of,  and  it  was  whispered  about  in  the  mess,  that  on 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


97 


two  or  three  occasions,  he  had  been  seen,  late  in 
the  evening,  walking  with  a  female  closely  muffled, 
in  an  unfrequented  and  lonely  part  of  the  shore,  at 
some  distance  from  the  town.  Different  officers  pro- 
fessed to  have  seen  this  female  with  him,  and  their 
descriptions  of  her  person  tallied  with  each  other. 
In  the  minds  of  the  mess  generally,  who  did  not 
know  Charles  so  thoroughly  as  I,  and  whose  moral- 
ity was  not  of  so  scrupulous  a  kind  as  his — or  as  I  had 
always  thought  his  to  be — this  matter  created  no 
surprise,  and  was  only  laid  hold  of  as  furnishing  an 
opportunity  for  sundry  nautical  jokes  and  witticisms. 
These  jests,  however,  met  with  such  a  reception  as 
by  no  means  encouraged  those  who  offered  them  to 
a  repetition. 

It  chanced  one  day  that  Charles  and  I  were  sent 
on  shore  on  a  piece  of  duty  together,  and  that  our 
business  lay  in  the  quarter  of  the  town  to  which  it 
had  been  noticed  that  he  always  directed  his  steps. 
As  we  passed  through  the  streets,  we  perceived 
there  was  a  considerable  hubbub  among  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  we  soon  ascertained  that  this  was  occa- 
sioned by  a  party  of  soldiers  who  had  lately  arrived 
from  the  Maine,  commissioned  to  search  the  island 
for  certain  proscribed  constitutionalists,  who  were 
supposed  to  have  taken  refuge  in  Minorca.  A 
good  many  of  these  wretched  fugitives  had  been 
discovered  and  executed ;  but  the  individual  against 
whom  the  proclamation  of  Ferdinand  was  chiefly 


98 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


directed,  had  hitherto  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the" 
bloodhounds.  This  person  was  a  brave  young 
chief,  who  had  filled  a  confidential  and  important  post 
under  Riego,  and  who,  by  his  intrepidity,  activity, 
and  ceaseless  vigilance,  had  been  greatly  instrument- 
al in  the  success  of  that  partisan  warfare  in  Catalonia, 
which  cost  the  royalists  so  much  blood  and  treasure, 
and  so  long  upheld  the  sinking  hopes  of  his  compa*. 
triots.  To  seize  and  slay  Don  Castro  de  Valero, 
the  name  of  the  youthful  and  interesting  chief,  was 
deemed  so  important  an  object  by  the  monarch,  that 
immense  rewards  had  been  offered  for  his  appre- 
hension, and  parties  had  been  sent  in  every  direction 
in  which  rumour  alleged  that  he  had  fled.  The 
troop  of  mercenaries  who  had  been  despatched  to 
Mahon,  were  stimulated  by  the  hope  of  reward,  to 
much  greater  activity  than  usually  characterizes 
Spanish  soldiers,  who  are  at  once  a  by- word  for  in- 
dolence and  rapacity.  They  had  closely  searched 
the  house  of  every  person  suspected  of  the  slightest 
disaffection,  and  had  followed  every  imaginary  clue 
with  the  keenest  zeal  of  avarice.  They  had  even 
visited  the  foreign  national  ships  in  the  port,  and  had 
procured  strict  orders  to  be  issued,  forbidding  the 
officers  from  harbouring  or  rendering  any  assistance 
to  ^hose  who  were  held  as  traitors  by  the  govern* 
ment  within  whose  waters  we  lay. 

On  the  afternoon  in  question,  in  consequence 
of  certain  hints  which  had  been  communicated  to 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


90 


this  party,  they  had  renewed  their  search,  and 
at  the  time  we  came  up  were  about  entering  an 
humble  dwelling,  which,  as  I  learned  from  the 
crowd,  was  occupied  by  a  poor  old  widow  woman 
and  her  neice.  We  were  yet  at  some  distance 
when  we  noticed  the  house  at  which  the  soldiers 
paused,  and  we  could  perceive  the  withered  old  duenna 
standing  on  her  threshold,  throwing  her  arms  about 
with  great  vehemence,  and  sputtering  with  ama- 
zing volubility  every  variety  of  gutteral  execration, 
of  which  the  Spanish  language  has  so  large  a  store. 

The  blood  mounted  to  Charles's  forehead,  and 
fire  to  his  eye,  as  this  sight  drew  his  attention  ;  and 
springing  forward  with  great  eagerness,  he  rushed 
by  the  crowd  of  mendicants  and  idle  spectators  whom 
the  circumstance  had  collected,  broke  through  the 
ranks  of  the  soldiers,  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
dwelling,  before  the  foremost  of  their  number  had 
gained  admittance. 

I  did  not  pause  to  consider  whether  this  impetuosity 
of  my  friend  arose  from  a  generous  but  imprudent 
feeling  of  indignation  at  the  object  of  their  search, 
or  from  some  less  selfish  motive ;  but  made  all  haste 
to  follow  him.  My  progress,  however,  met  with 
more  obstruction  than  his  unlooked-for  movement, 
and  I  was  not  able  to  rejoin  him  for  more  than  a 
minute.  When  I  at  length  forced  my  way  into  the 
building,  I  found  him  defending  a  door  which  led  to 
an  inner  apartment,  and  surrounded  by  the  merce- 


100 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


varies,  all  jabbering  their  vehement  and  incoherent 
menaces.  As  yet,  no  blow  had  been  struck ;  but  it 
was  evident,  from  the  violence  of  their  gestures, 
that  hostilities  would  not  much  longer  be  delayed. 

As  I  entered,  they  huddled  closer  around  my  com- 
panion ;  and  pushing  against  him  with  one  sudden 
and  united  impulse,  the  door  broke  from  its  fasten- 
ings, and  the  whole  party  fell  together  on  the  floor. 

I  have  said  before  that  Charles  was  strong  and 
agile  ;  but  I  was  not  prepared  for  such  a  display  of 
muscular  energy  and  activity  as  he  now  exhibited 
in  releasing  himself  from  the  superincumbent  crowd 
of  prostrate  and  grappling  soldiers.  In  an  instant  he 
was  on  his  feet,  and  beside  a  bed,  which  I  now  ob- 
served in  one  corner  of  the  room.  The  apartment 
was  lighted  by  a  curtained  lattice ;  but  though  the 
illumination  was  not  strong,  particularly  to  vision 
that  had  just  passed  from  the  broad,  glare  of  day,  it 
was  sufficient  to  show  that  the  bed  was  occupied  by 
a  female,  who  had  partly  risen  from  the  couch,  and 
whose  cheek  was  flushed,  and  whose  dark  eyes 
glowed  like  fire,  probably  with  indignation  at  this  rude 
intrusion.  Charles  threw  his  arms  round  the  neck  of 
the  female,  replaced  her  head  upon  the  pillow,  kissed 
her  burning  brow,  and  with  a  tremulous,  but  sooth- 
ing voice,  bade  her  not  be  alarmed,  for  that  he  would 
defend  her  with  his  life :  then  turning  sternly  to  the 
leader  of  the  Spanish  soldiers,  he  commanded  him  to 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


101 


pursue  his  search  with  all  despatch,  and  leave  the 
apartment. 

The  Spaniards,  who  by  this  time  had  risen  to 
their  feet,  looked  at  each  other,  at  Charles,  and  at 
the  female,  with  blank  astonishment ;  nor  was  ^their 
confusion  lessened  by  the  torrent  of  invective  which 
the  old  woman,  who  had  now  also  entered  the  room, 
poured  out  upon  their  heads.  The  officer  who  had 
charge  of  the  party,  after  a  moment  spent  in  casting 
scrutinizing  glances  into  every  corner  of  the  room, 
directed  his  men  to  withdraw ;  and  then  mumbling 
out  an  apology,  in  which  he  intimated,  with  an  im- 
pudent leer,  that  he  was  now  convinced  that  Charles's 
visits  to  this  house  had  a  different  object  from  what 
had  been  suspected,  he  also  left  the  apartment. 
There  was  no  further  excuse  for  me  to  protract  my 
stay,  and  I  turned  and  followed  his  retreating  steps. 

"  She  is  handsome,"  thought  I,  as  I  walked  slowly 
up  the  street,  pondering  on  the  secret  which  had  thus 
been  accidentally  revealed  to  me,  and  thinking  how 
I  might  disentangle  my  friend  from  the  net  of  this 
fair  Spanish  woman — "yes,  she  is  handsome — just 
the  cast  of  countenance  I  should  suppose  would  have 
fascination  for  one  of  his  brave  and  romantic  nature. 
Her  black  and  piercing  eye,  her  noble  profile,  the 
scornful  expression  of  her  lip  as  she  darted  her  keen 
glance  upon  the  soldiers — these  traits  of  beauty  did 
not  escape  me,  feebly  lighted  as  her  apartment  was." 
And  my  mind  reverted  from  this  Spanish  paramour 


102 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


to  the  contemplation  of  the  delicate  and  tender 
beauties  of  the  fair-cheeked  and  blue-eyed  wife,  who, 
far  away,  was  anxiously  counting  the  hours  that 
should  restore  her  husband  to  her  arms,  and  who 
herself  incapable  of  change,  had  probably  never 
entertained  a  doubt  of  his  fidelity.  I  am  not  much 
given  to  the  melting  mood,  but  I  confess  my  medita- 
tions on  this  subject  drew  from  me  a  heartfelt 
sigh. 

I  was  still  brooding  on  what  I  had  just  seen, 
when  Charles  rejoined  me.  The  few  words  which 
passed  between  us  on  our  meeting  satisfied  me  that 
that  was  not  the  time  for  expostulation  or  rebuke. 
He  bade  me  remember  that  I  owed  to  accident  the 
discovery  I  had  made,  and  enjoined  upon  me,  by 
our  ancient  friendship,  neither  to  question  him  nor 
utter  a  syllable  to  any  other  person.  I  gave  the  re- 
quired promise  the  more  readily,  as  I  reflected  that 
in  a  very  few  days  we  should  sail,  and  that  distance, 
in  all  probability,  would  put  an  end  to  this  unworthy 
attachment,  as  it  had  made  him  forgetful  of  the  ties 
of  honourable  love.  We  soon  executed  the  duty 
we  were  sent  upon,  and  returned  to  the  ship. 

The  relief- vessel,  of  which  we  had  been  in  daily 
expectation,  arrived  on  the  evening  after  this  adven- 
ture, and  sailing  orders  were  thereupon  immediately 
issued.  All  further  going  ashore  was  forbidden; 
and  the  signal,  commanding  on  board  all  who  were 
ashore,  was  run  up  at  the  fore.    Charles  was  among 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


108 


this  number,  and  by  all  but  him  the  order  was 
promptly  and  gladly  obeyed.  A  fine  breeze  had 
sprung  up  at  sunset,  and  for  mpre  than  an  hour  we 
lay  waiting  for  him  with  our  anchor  apeak,  and  our 
loosed  topsails  flapping  idly  against  the  mast.  The 
capstan-bars  were  shipped  and  manned,  the  crew 
all  at  their  stations,  the  accommodation-ladder  un- 
rigged, and  every  thing  ready  to  be  off.  The  com- 
modore walked  the  quarter-deck  with  quick,  im- 
patient steps,  and  murmurs  were  heard  from  various 
groups,  chiding  the  delay  of  the  dilatory  officer.  A 
midshipman,  who  had  been  despatched  in  one  of  the 
cutters  for  him,  had  returned  some  time  before,  after 
a  fruitless  search. 

At  length  the  patience  of  our  commander  was  en- 
tirely exhausted,  and  he  had  given  the  order  to 
weigh  and  make  sail,  when  the  quartermaster  on  the 
look-out  hailed  a  boat,  which  had  just  pulled  into 
sight  through  the  gathering  dusk  of  evening.  The 
answer  of  "Ay,  ay!"  told  that  it  was  Charles,  and 
directly  after  a  shore-boat  glided  alongside.  In 
reply  to  the  sharp  rebuke  of  the  commodore  for 
having  been  so  tardy  in  obeying  the  signal,  he  said 
something  about  the  necessity  he  had  been  under  of 
purchasing  certain  stores  for  the  mess ;  though  it 
was  observed  that  his  explanation  had  not  all  the 
clearness  of  tone  and  manner  which  usually  cha- 
racterized- his  official  communications.  The  dis- 
pleasure which  the  delay  had  occasioned,  was  not 


104 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


diminished  when  it  was  found  that  the  mess-chest, 
in  which  he  had  brought  off  these  stores,  was  so 
large  and  cumbrous,  that  a  yard-tackle  had  to  be 
got  on  the  main-yard  in  order  to  hoist  it  on  board. 
The  men  themselves,  though  Charles  was  a  great 
favourite  with  them,  seemed  not  well  pleased  that 
he  had  caused  so  long  a  detention ;  and  when  the 
tackle  was  hooked  on,  they  ran  away  with  the  fall 
with  a  degree  of  spiteful  velocity  that  made  the 
chest  ascend  swiftly  to  the  yard-block  before  the 
boatswain's  mate  could  pipe  belay.  My  eye  hap- 
pened to  be  fixed  on  Charles  while  this  manoeuvre 
was  performed,  and  I  thought  he  evinced  more  anxie- 
ty on  the  subject  than  a  few  sea-stores  were  worth. 
The  chest,  however,  was  lowered  more  gently  than 
it  was  hoisted,  and  by  Charles's  direction  was  con- 
veyed into  his  own  state-room.  The  ship  now  got 
under  way,  the  canvass  swelled  out  to  the  breeze, 
and  the  Mahonese  pilot,  for  a  time  commander  of 
our  frigate,  took  his  stand  on  the  after-hammock- 
cloths,  and  issued  his  orders  in  the  dictatorial  tone 
which  persons  dressed  "  in  a  little  brief  authority" 
are  wont  to  use.  In  less  than  an  hour  we  were 
laying  our  course,  under  a  pleasant  topgallant 
breeze,  for  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  the  incidents  of  our  homeward 
passage ;  for  I  have  no  storms  or  shipwrecks  to  tell 
of — no  hairbreadth  escapes,  or  moving  accidents 
of  any  description.    A  mystery  seemed  to  hang 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


105 


round  the  mess-chest  in  Charles's  state-room,  and 
some  strange  stories  got  to  be  whispered  through  the 
ship  concerning  it.  For  my  part,  I  had  my  own 
suspicions,  and  they  were  of  a  kind  which  troubled 
me  a  good  deal.  One  thing  we  all  noticed ;  that 
though  this  chest  professedly  contained  stores  for 
the  mess,  no  stores  were  ever  produced  from  it. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  affirmed,  that  various 
delicacies  from  our  table  found  their  way  to 
the  chest.  Another  voice  than  Charles's,  too,  it 
was  said,  had  been  heard  there,  two  or  three  different 
times  ;  and  one  young  officer,  more  prying  than  the 
rest,  whispered  to  his  companions  that  through 
a  crevice  of  the  state-room  door,  he  had  once  beheld 
a  female  figure  sitting  in  the  narrow  apartment.  A 
fresh,  fair  wind,  and  a  short  passage,  allowed  less 
time  for  gossip  of  this  sort  than  there  would  other- 
wise have  been ;  and  the  demeanour  of  Charles,  too, 
was  not  of  a  kind  to  encourage  loose  jests  or  idle 
curiosity. 

We  at  length  came  to  anchor  in  the  noble  bay  of 
New- York.  I  remember  the  evening  well.  I  remem- 
ber how  gloriously  the  sun,  as  it  sunk  behind  the  ro- 
mantic  promontory  of  Weehawken,  burnished  the 
spires,  roofs,  and  windo  ws  of  the  city,  till  it  seemed  a 
city  of  sapphire,  and  topas,  and  gold.  And  when  those 
hues  faded  away,  and  night  succeeded,  I  remember 
how  beautiful  its  thousands  of  lamps  shone  through 
the  darkness,  while  every  here  and  there  a  long 
G 


106 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


thread  of  fire  ascended  into  the  air,  denoting  the 
spots  where  gay  throngs  were  assembled  for  eve- 
ning recreation.  At  last  the  full  round  moon  rose 
over  all,  shedding  its  mellow  lustre  through  the  night, 
and  gilding  the  broad  and  beautiful  bay,  till  every 
ripple  glistened  in  its  light  with  the  brilliancy  of 
molten  silver. 

I  had  the  first  watch  that  evening ;  and  as  I  paced 
the  deck  to  and  fro,  various  mixed  emotions  occu- 
pied my  breast.  Charles  and  his  poor  wife  were 
prominent  subjects  of  my  thoughts;  and  I  need 
hardly  tell  the  reader  that  I  feared  the  happiness  of 
the  latter  was  about  to  receive  a  cruel  shock.  And 
yet  I  had  some  strange  misgivings  on  this  head. 

As  many  officers  as  could  be  spared  from  the  ship 
had  been  permitted  to  leave  her,  and  Charles 
was  among  the  number.  The  same  big,  clumsy, 
cumbrous  chest,  which  had  already  been  the  subject 
of  so  many  painful  reflections  in  my  mind,  accom- 
panied him ;  and  I  was  half  disposed  to  turn  away 
from  him  in  anger,  when  he  paused  at  the  gangway 
to  say  a  parting  word  to  me.  "  You  will  breakfast 
with  Matilda  and  me,  to-morrow  morning?"  said  he, 
and  a  faint  smile  curled  his  lip  as -he  gave  the  invi- 
tation. I  could  not  satisfy  myself  wholly  what  was 
the  meaning  of  that  smile ;  and  in  pondering  upon 
that  and  other  kindred  topics,  my  watch  passed 
away,  and  my  relief  was  on  deck  before  I  was  aware 
that  half  the  time  had  expired. 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


107 


Never  was  guest  more  punctual  to  his  appoint- 
ment than  I  was  with  Charles  the  following  morning. 
As  I  entered  the  hall,  the  first  thing  I  noticed  was 
the  mess-chest,  which  had  given  me  so  much  un- 
easiness. In  the  breakfast  parlour  I  found  my  friend 
and  his  sweet  wife.  She  was  all  radiant  in  smiles, 
and  never  before  looked  half  so  charming.  Charles 
looked  happy,  too — very  happy ;  but  there  was  an 
expression  of  mischief  mingled  with  his  smile  that  I 
could  not  exactly  comprehend.  The  explanation, 
however,  was  at  hand.  In  the  recess  of  one  of  the 
windows  sat  a  young  man,  whom  I  had  not  noticed 
as  I  entered  the  room.  Charles  turned  to  intro- 
duce me  to  him.  It  was  the  young  and  handsome 
chief,  Don  Castro  De  Valero;  and,  as  he  rose 
and  extended  his  hand  to  me,  I  caught  a  side  view 
of  his  features,  and  beheld  the  same  noble  profile 
which  had  so  struck  me  in  the  supposed  niece 
of  the  old  duenna  in  Mahon.  I  comprehended 
the  whole  mystery  now  in  a  moment,  and  only 
wondered  at  my  stupidity  in  not  conjecturing  the 
truth  before. 

"  And  you  see,"  said  Charles,  "  that  I  was  not  so 
great  a  villain  as  you  were  inclined  to  think  me." 

"Forgive  me,  my  dear  friend.  But  why  this 
long  concealment?  Surely,  after  we  were  at 
sea  " 

"  We  were  officers  of  a  national  vessel,"  said  he, 
"  and  our  government  was  responsible  for  any  vio- 


108 


THE  MESS-CHEST. 


lation  of  the  strict  laws  of  neutrality.  If  the  king 
of  Spain  could  show  that  De  Valero  was  brought  to 
this  country  by  one  of  our  frigates,  how  should  we 
resist  his  right  to  have  him  rendered  up  ?  How  he 
reached  this  country  is  therefore  his  own  secret :  and, 
remember,  you  yet  only  know  by  conjecture  the 
contents  of  the  mess-chest." 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK, 

OR 

A    LEAP    FOR  LIFE. 


G2 


t 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 


Stand  still  !  How  fearful 
And  dizzy  'tis  to  cast  one's  eyes  so  low  ! 

The  murmuring'  surge, 
That  on  th'  unnumber'd  idle  pebbles  chofes, 
Cannot  be  heard  so  high  : — I'll  look  no  more  ; 
Lost  my  brain  turn,  and  the  deficient  sight 
Topple  down  headlong. 

Shakspeare. 

Among  the  many  agreeable  associates  whom  my 
different  cruisings  and  wanderings  have  brought  me 
acquainted  with,  I  can  scarcely  call  to  mind  a  more 
pleasant  and  companionable  one  than  Tom  Scupper. 
Poor  fellow !  he  is  dead  and  gone  now — a  victim  to 
that  code  of  false  honour  which  has  robbed  the  navy 
of  too  many  of  its  choicest  officers.  Tom  and  I 
were  messmates  during  a  short  and  delightful  cruise, 
and,  a  good  part  of  the  time,  we  belonged  to  the 
same  watch.  He  was  a  great  hand  to  spin  yarns, 
which,  to  do  him  justice,  he  sometimes  did  tolerably 
well ;  and  many  a  long  mid-watch  has  his  fund  of 
anecdote  and  sea  stories  caused  to  slip  pleasantly 
away.  We  were  lying  in  the  open  roadstead  of 
G3 


112      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 

Laguyra,  at  single  anchor,  when  Tom  told  me  the 
story  which  I  am  about  to  relate,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
remember,  in  his  own  words.  A  "vessel  from  Balti- 
more had  come  into  Laguyra  that  day,  and  by  her 
I  had  received  letters  from  home,  in  one  of  which 
there  was  a  piece  of  intelligence  that  weighed  heavily 
on  my  spirits.  For  some  minutes  after  our  watch 
commenced,  Tom  and  I  walked  the  deck  in  silence, 
which  was  soon,  however,  interrupted  by  my  talk- 
ative companion,  who,  perceiving  my  depression,  and 
wishing  to  divert  my  thoughts,  told  me  the  story 
which  I  am  now  about  to  relate  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  reader. 

The  last  cruise  I  made  in  the  Mediterraneans., 
said  he,  was  in  old  Ironsides,  as  we  used  to  call  our 
gallant  frigate.  We  had  been  backing  and  filling 
for  several  months  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa, 
from  the  Canaries  down  to  Messurado,  in  search  of 
slave  traders ;  and  during  that  time  we  had  had  some 
pretty  heavy  weather.  When  we  reached  the 
Straits,  there  was  a  spanking  wind  blowing  from 
about  west-south-west;  so  we  squared  away,  and, 
without  coming-to  at  the  Rock,  made  a  straight 
wake  for  old  Mahon,  the  general  rendezvous  and 
place  of  refitting  for  our  squadrons  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Immediately  on  arriving  there,  we  warped 
in  alongside  the  Arsenal  quay,  where  we  stripped 
ship  to  a  girtline,  broke  out  the  holds,  tiers,  and 
store-rooms,  and  gave  her  a  regular-built  overhaul- 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  113 

ing  from  stem  to  stern.  For  a  while,  every  body 
was  busy,  and  all  seemed  bustle  and  confusion. 
Orders  and  replies,  in  loud  and  dissimilar  voices,  the 
shrill  pipings  of  the  different  boatswain's  mates,  each 
attending  to  separate  duties,  and  the  mingled  clatter 
and  noise  of  various  kinds  of  work,  all  going  on  at 
the  same  time,  gave  something  of  the  stir  and  ani- 
mation of  a  dock-yard  to  the  usually  quiet  arsenal 
of  Mahon.  The  boatswain  and  his  crew  were  en- 
gaged in  fitting  a  new  gang  of  rigging ;  the  gunner 
in  repairing  his  breechings  and  gun-tackles;  the 
fo'castle-men  in  calking;  the  top-men  in  sending 
down  the  yards  and  upper  spars ;  the  holders  and 
waisters  in  whitewashing  and  holy-stoning ;  and 
even  the  poor  marines  were  kept  busy,  like  beasts 
of  burden,  in  carrying  breakers  of  water  on  their 
backs.  On  the  quay,  near  the  ship,  the  smoke  of 
the  armourer's  forge,  which  had  been  hoisted  out  and 
sent  ashore,  ascended  in  a  thin  column  through  the 
clear  blue  sky ;  from  one  of  the  neighbouring  white 
stone  warehouses  the  sound  of  saw  and  hammer  told 
that  the  carpenters  were  at  work ;  near  by,  a  live- 
lier rattling  drew  attention  to  the  cooper,  who  in  the 
open  air  was  tightening  the  water-casks ;  and  not 
far  removed,  under  a  temporary  shed,  formed  of 
spare  studding-sails  and  tarpaulins,  sat  the  sa'imaker 
and  his  assistants,  repairing  the  sails,  which  had 
been  rent  or  injured  by  the  many  storms  we  had 
encountered. 


114      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 

Many  hands  make  light  work,  and  in  a  very 
few  days  all  was  accomplished:  the  stays  and 
shrouds  were  set  up,  and  new  rattled  down,  the 
yards  crossed,  the  running  rigging  rove,  and 
sails  bent ;  and  the  old  craft,  fresh  painted  and 
all  a-taunt-o,  looked  as  fine  as  a  midshipman  on 
liberty.  In  place  of  the  storm-stumps,  which  had 
been  stowed  away  among  the  booms  and  other  spare 
spars,  amidships,  we  had  sent  up  cap  to'gallant-masts 
and  royal-poles,  with  a  sheave  for  skysails,  and 
hoist  enough  for  sky-scrapers  above  them:  so 
you  may  judge  the  old  frigate  looked  pretty 
taunt.  There  was  a  Dutch  line-ship  in  the  har- 
bour; but  though  we  only  carried  forty-four  to 
her  eighty,  her  main-truck  would  hardly  have 
reached  to  our  royal-mast-head.  The  side-boys, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  lay  aloft  and  furl  the  skysails, 
looked  no  bigger  on  the  yard  than  a  good -sized  duff 
for  a  midshipman's  mess,  and  the  main-truck  seemed 
not  half  as  large  as  the  Turk's-head-knotonthe  man- 
ropes  of  the  accommodation  ladder. 

When  we  had  got  every  thing  shipshape  and 
man-of-war  fashion,  we  hauled  out  again,  and  took 
our  berth  about  half  way  between  the  arsenal  and 
Hospital  island ;  and  a  pleasant  view  it  gave  us  of 
the  town  and  harbour  of  old  Mahon,  one  of  the 
safest  and  most  tranquil  places  of  anchorage  in  the 
world.  The  water  of  this  beautiful  inlet — which, 
though  it  makes  about  four  miles  into  the  land,  is 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  US 

not  much  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width — is 
scarcely  ever  ruffled  by  a  storm ;  and  on  the  delight- 
ful afternoon  to  which  I  now  refer,  it  lay  as  still  and 
motionless  as  a  polished  mirror,  except  when  bro- 
ken into  momentary  ripples  by  the  paddles  of  some 
passing  waterman.  What  little  wind  there  had 
been  in  the  fore  part  of  the  day,  died  away  at  noon, 
and,  though  the  first  dog-watch  was  almost  out,  and 
the  sun  near  the  horizon,  not  a  breath  of  air  had 
risen  to  disturb  the  deep  serenity  of  the  scene.  The 
Dutch  liner,  which  lay  not  far  from  us,  was  so  clear- 
ly reflected  in  the  glassy  surface  of  the  water,  that 
there  was  not  a  rope  about  her,  from  her  main-stay 
to  her  signal  halliards,  which  the  eye  could  not 
distinctly  trace  in  her  shadowy  and  inverted  image. 
The  buoy  of  our  best  bower  floated  abreast  our  lar- 
board bow ;  and  that,  too,  was  so  strongly  imaged, 
that  its  entire  bulk  seemed  to  lie  above  the  water, 
just  resting  on  it,  as  if  upborne  on  a  sea  of  molten 
lead ;  except  when  now  and  then,  the  wringing  of  a 
swab,  or  the  dashing  of  a  bucket  overboard  from 
the  head,  broke  up  the  shadow  for  a  moment,  and 
showed  the  substance  but  half  its  former  apparent 
size.  A  small  polacca  craft  had  got  under  way 
from  Mahon  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  intending 
to  stand  over  to  Barcelona ;  but  it  fell  dead  calm 
just  before  she  reached  the  chops  of  the  harbour ; 
and  there  she  lay  as  motionless  upon  the  blue  sur- 
face, as  if  she  were  only  part  of  a  mimic  scene,  from 


116      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 


the  pencil  of  some  accomplished  painter.  Her 
broad  cotton  lateen-sails,  as  they  hung  drooping  from 
the  slanting  and  taper  yards,  shone  with  a  glisten- 
ing whiteness  that  contrasted  beautifully  with  the 
dark  flood  in  which  they  were  reflected ;  and  the 
distant  sound  of  the  guitar,  which  one  of  the  sailors 
was  listlessly  playing  on  her  deck,  came  sweetly 
over  the  water,  and  harmonized  well  with  the  quiet 
appearance  of  every  thing  around.  The  white- 
washed walls  of  the  lazaretto,  on  a  verdant  head- 
land at  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  glittered  like  silver  in 
the  slant  rays  of  the  sun ;  and  some  of  its  windows 
were  burnished  so  brightly  by  the  level  beams,  that  it 
seemed  as  if  the  whole  interior  of  the  edifice  were 
in  flames.  On  the  opposite  side,  the  romantic  and 
picturesque  ruins  of  fort  St.  Philip,  faintly  seen,  ac- 
quired double  beauty  from  being  tipped  with  the 
declining  light ;  and  the  clusters  of  ancient-looking 
windmills,  which  dot  the  green  eminences  along  the 
bank,  added,  by  the  motionless  state  of  their  wings, 
to  the  effect  of  the  unbroken  tranquillity. 

Even  on  board  our  vessel,  a  degree  of  stillness 
unusual  for  a  man-of-war  prevailed  among  the  crew. 
It  was  the  hour  of  their  evening  meal ;  and  the  low 
murmur  from  the  gun-deck  had  an  indistinct  and 
buzzing  sound,  which,  like  the  dreamy  hum  of  bees 
on  a  warm  summer  noon,  rather  heightened  than 
diminished  the  charm  of  the  surroundingjquiet.  JJThe 
spar-deck  was  almost  deserted.    The  quarter-mas- 


the  main-truck,  or  a  leap  for  life.  117 

ter  of  the  watch,  with  his  spy-glass  in  his  hand,  and 
dressed  in  a  frock  and  trowsers  of  snowy  whiteness, 
stood  aft  upon  the  taffrel,  erect  and  motionless  as  a 
statue,  keeping  the  usual  look-out.  A  group  of 
some  half  dozen  sailors  had  gathered  together  on 
the  fo'castle,  where  they  were  supinely  lying  under 
the  shade  of  the  bulwarks ;  and  here  and  there,  upon 
the  gun-slides  along  the  gangway,  sat  three  or  four 
others — one,  with  his  clothes-bag  beside  him,  over- 
hauling his  simple  wardrobe ;  another  working  a 
set  of  clues  for  some  favourite  officer's  hammock ; 
and  a  third  engaged,  perhaps,  in  carving  his  name 
in  rude  letters  upon  the  handle  of  a  jack-knife,  or  in 
knotting  a  laniard  with  which  to  suspend  it  round 
his  neck. 

On  the  top  of  the  boom- cover,  in  the  full  glare  of 
the  level  sun,  lay  black  Jake,  the  jig-maker  of  the 
ship,  and  a  striking  specimen  of  African  peculiari- 
ties, in  whose  single  person  they  were  all  strongly 
developed.  His  flat  nose  was  dilated  to  unusual 
width,  and  his  ebony  cheeks  fairly  glistened  with 
delight,  as  he  looked  up  at  the  gambols  of  a  large 
monkey,  which,  clinging  to  the  main-stay,  just  above 
Jake's  woolly  head,  was  chattering  and  grinning 
back  at  the  negro,  as  if  there  existed  some  means 
of  mutual  intelligence  between  them.  It  was  my 
watch  on  deck,  and  I  stood  awhile  leaning  on  the 
main  fife-rail  and  amusing  myself  by  observing  the 
antics  of  the  black  and  his  congenial  playmate ;  but 


118      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE, 

at  length,  tiring  of  the  rude  mirth,  I  walked  towards 
the  taffrel,  to  gaze  on  the  more  agreeable  features 
of  the  scene  I  have  attempted  to  describe.  Just 
at  that  moment  a  shout  and  a  merry  laugh  burst 
upon  my  ear,  and  looking  quickly  round  to  ascer- 
tain the  cause  of  the  unusual  sound  on  a  frigate's 
deck,  I  saw  little  Bob  Stay  (as  we  called  our  com- 
modore's  son)  standing  half  way  up  the  main-hatch 
ladder,  clapping  his  hands,  and  looking  aloft  at  some 
object  which  seemed  to  inspire  him  with  a  deal  of 
glee.  A  single  glance  to  the  main-yard  informed 
me  of  the  occasion  of  his  merriment.  He  had  been 
coming  up  from  the  gun-deck,  when  Jacko,  perceiv- 
ing him  on  the  ladder,  dropped  suddenly  down  from 
the  main- stay,  and  running  along  the  boom- cover, 
leaped  upon  Bob's  shoulder,  seized  his  cap  from  his 
head,  and  immediately  darted  up  the  main-topsail- 
sheet,  and  thence  to  the  bunt  of  the  mainyard, 
where  he  now  sat,  picking  threads  from  the  tassel 
of  his  prize,  and  occasionally  scratching  his  side, 
and  chattering,  as  if  with  exultation  at  the  success 
of  his  mischief.  But  Bob  was  a  sprightly,  active 
little  fellow ;  and  though  he  could  not  climb  quite  as 
nimbly  as  a  monkey,  yet  he  had  no  mind  to  lose  his 
cap  without  an  effort  to  regain  it.  Perhaps  he  was 
the  more  strongly  incited  to  make  chase  after  J acko, 
by  seeing  me  smile  at  his  plight,  or  by  the  loud 
laugh  of  Jake,  who  seemed  inexpressibly  delighted 
at  the  occurrence,  and  endeavoured  to  evince,  by 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  119 

tumbling  about  the  boom-cloth,  shaking  his  huge 
misshapen  head,  and  sundry  other  grotesque  actions, 
the  pleasure  for  which  he  had  no  words. 

"  Ha,  you  damn  rascal,  Jocko,  hab  you  no  more 
respec'  for  de  young  officer,  den  to  steal  his  cab  ? 
We  bring  you  to  de  gangway,  you  black  nigger, 
and  gib  you  a  dozen  on  de  bare  back  for  a  tief." 

The  monkey  looked  down  from  his  perch  as  if  he 
understood  the  threat  of  the  negro,  and  chattered  a 
sort  of  defiance  in  answer. 

"  Ha,  ha  !  Massa  Stay,  he  say  you  mus'  ketch 
him  'fore  you  flog  him ;  and  it's  no  so  easy  for  a 
midshipman  in  boots  to  ketch  a  monkey  barefoot." 

A  red  spot  mounted  to  little  Bob's  cheek,  as  he 
cast  one  glance  of  offended  pride  at  Jake,  and  then 
sprang  across  the  deck  to  the  Jacob's  ladder.  In 
an  instant  he  was  half-way  up  the  rigging,  running 
over  the  ratlines  as  lightly  as  if  they  were  an  easy 
flight  of  stairs,  whilst  the  shrouds  scarcely  quivered 
beneath  his  elastic  motion.  In  a  second  more  his 
hand  was  on  the  futtocks. 

"  Massa  Stay  !"  cried  Jake,  who  sometimes,  being 
a  favourite,  ventured  to  take  liberties  with  the 
younger  officers.  "Massa  Stay,  you  best  crawl 
through  de  lubber's  hole — it  take  a  sailor  to  climb 
de  futtock  shroud." 

But  he  had  scarcely  time  to  utter  his  pretended 
caution,  before  Bob  was  in  the  top.  The  monkey 
in  the  mean  while  had  awaited  his  approach,  until  he 


120      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 

got  nearly  up  the  rigging,  when  it  suddenly  put  the 
cap  on  its  own  head,  and  running  along  the  yard  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  top,  sprang  up  a  rope,  and 
thence  to  the  topmast  backstay,  up  which  it  ran  to 
the  topmast  cross-trees,  where  it  again  quietly  seated 
itself,  and  resumed  its  work  of  picking  the  tassel  to 
pieces.  For  several  minutes  I  stood  watching  my 
little  messmate  follow  Jacko  from  one  piece  of  rig- 
ging to  another,  the  monkey,  all  the  while,  seeming 
to  exert  only  so  much  agility  as  was  necessary  to 
elude  the  pursuer,  and  pausing  whenever  the  latter 
appeared  to  be  growing  weary  of  the  chase.  At 
last,  by  this  kind  of  manoeuvring,  the  mischievous 
animal  succeeded  in  enticing  Bob  as  high  as  the 
royal-mast-head,  when,  springing  suddenly  on  the 
royal  stay,  it  ran  nimbly  down  to  the  fore-to'gallant- 
mast-head,  thence  down  the  rigging  to  the  foretop, 
and  leaping  on  the  foreyard,  it  ran  out  to  the  yard- 
arm,  hung  the  cap  on  the  end  of  the  studding-sail 
boom,  and  there  taking  its  seat,  it  raised  a  loud  and 
exulting  chattering.  Bob  by  this  time  was  com- 
pletely tired  out,  and,  unwilling,  perhaps,  to  return  to 
the  deck  to  be  laughed  at  for  his  fruitless  chase,  he 
sat  down  in  the  royal  cross-trees,  while  those  who 
had  been  attracted  by  the  sport,  returned  to  their 
usual  avocations  or  amusements.  The  monkey,  no 
longer  the  object  of  pursuit  or  attention,  remained 
but  a  little  while  on  toe  yard-arm ;  but  soon  taking 
up  the  cap,  returned  in  towards  the  slings,  and 
dropped  it  down  upon  the  deck. 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  121 

Some  little  piece  of  duty  occurred  at  this  moment 
to  engage  me  for  a  few  moments  and  as  soon  as  it 
was  performed  I  walked  aft,  and  leaning  my  elbow 
on  the  taffrel,  gave  myself  up  to  the  recollection  of 
scenes  very  different  from  the  boyish  pantomime  I 
had  just  been  witnessing.  Soothed  by  the  low  hum 
of  the  crew,  and  by  the  quiet  loveliness  of  every 
thing  around,  my  thoughts  had  travelled  far  away 
from  the  realities  of  my  situation,  when  I  was  sud- 
denly startled  by  a  cry  from  Black  Jake,  which 
brought  me  on  the  instant  back  to  consciousness. 

66  My  God !  Massa  Scupper/'  cried  he,  "  Massa 
Stay  is  on  de  main-truck!" 

A  cold  shudder  ran  through  my  veins  at  the 
word.  I  cast  my  eyes  up — it  was  too  true !  The 
adventurous  boy,  after  resting  on  the  royal  cross, 
trees,  had  been  seized  with  a  wish  to  go  still  higher, 
and  moved  by  one  of  those  impulses  which  some* 
times  instigate  men  to  place  themselves  in  situations 
of  imminent  peril,  where  no  good  can  result  from  the 
exposure,  he  had  climbed  the  skysail-pole,  and,  at 
the  moment  of  my  looking  up,  was  actually  standing 
on  the  main-truck !  a  small  circular  piece  of  wood 
on  the  very  summit  of  the  loftiest  mast,  and  at  a 
height  so  great  from  the  deck  that  my  brain  turned 
dizzy  as  I  looked  up  at  him.  The  reverse  of  Vir- 
gil's line  was  true  in  this  instance.  It  was  com- 
paratively easy  to  ascend — but  to  descend — my 
head  swam  round,  and  my  stomach  felt  sick,  at  the 


122       THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFEi 

thought  of  the  perils  comprised  in  that  one  word. 
There  was  nothing  above  him  or  around  him  hut  the 
empty  air- — and  beneath  him,  nothing  but  a  point,  a 
mere  point — a  small,  unstable  wheel,  that  seemed  no 
bigger  from  the  deck  than  the  button  on  the  end  of 
a  foil,  and  the  taper  skysail-pole  itself  scarcely 
larger  than  the  blade.  Dreadful  temerity !  If  he 
should  attempt  to  stoop,  what  could  he  take  hold  of 
to  steady  his  descent?  His  feet  quite  covered  up 
the  small  and  fearful  platform  which  he  stood  upon, 
and  beneath  that,  a  long,  smooth,  naked  spar,  which 
seemed  to  bend  with  his  weight,  was  all  that  upheld 
him  from  destruction.  An  attempt  to  get  down 
from  "  that  bad  eminence,"  would  be  almost  certain 
death  ;  he  would  inevitably  lose  his  equilibrium,  and 
be  precipitated  to  the  deck  a  crushed  and  shapeless 
mass.  Such  were  the  thoughts  that  crowded  through 
my  mind  as  I  first  raised  my  eyes,  and  saw  the  terri- 
ble truth  of  Jake's  exclamation.  What  was  to  be 
done  in  the  pressing  and  fearful  exigency  ?  To  hail 
him,  and  inform  him  of  the  danger,  would  be  but  to 
insure  his]  ruin.  Indeed,  I  fancied  that  the  rash  boy 
already  perceived  the  imminence  of  his  peril ;  and  I 
half  thought  I  could  see  his  limbs  begin  to  quiver, 
and  his  cheek  turn  deadly  pale.  Every  moment  I 
expected  to  see  the  dreadful  catastrophe.  I  could 
not  bear  to  look  at  him,  and  yet  could  ^not  withdraw 
my  gaze.  A  film  came  over  my  eyes,  and  a  faint- 
ness  over  my  heart.    The  atmosphere  seemed  to 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  123 

grow  thick  and  tremble  and  waver  like  the  heated 
air  round  a  furnace ;  the  mast  appeared  to  totter, 
and  the  ship  to  pass  from  under  my  feet.  I  myself 
had  the  sensations  of  one  about  to  fall  from  a  great 
height,  and  in  a  sudden  effort  to  recover  myself, 
like  that  of  a  dreamer  who  fancies  he  is  shoved  from 
a  precipice,  I  staggered  up  against  the  bulwarks. 

When  my  eyes  were  once  turned  from  the  object 
to  which  they  had  been  riveted,  my  sense  and  con- 
sciousness came  back.  I  looked  around — the  deck 
was  already  crowded  with  people.  The  intelligence 
of  poor  Bob's  temerity  had  spread  through  the  ship 
like  wild-fire — and  the  officers  and  crew  were  all 
crowding  to  the  deck.  Every  one,  as  he  looked 
up,  turned  pale,  and  his  eye  became  fastened 
on  the  truck — like  that  of  a  spectator  of  an  exe- 
cution on  the  gallows — with  a  steadfast  and  un- 
blinking, yet  abhorrent  gaze,  as  if  momently  ex- 
pecting a  fatal  termination  to  the  suspense.  No 
one  made  a  suggestion — no  one  spoke.  Every 
feeling,  every  faculty  seemed  absorbed  and  swallow- 
ed up  in  one  deep,  intense  emotion  of  agony.  Once 
the  first  lieutenant  seized  the  trumpet,  as  if  to  hail  poor 
Bob,  but  he  had  scarce  raised  it  to  his  lips,  when 
his  arm  dropped  again,  and  sunk  listlessly  down 
beside  him,  as  if  from  sad  consciousness  of  the  inuti- 
lity of  what  he  had  been  going  to  say.  Every  soul 
in  the  ship  was  now  on  the  spar-deck,  and  every  eye 
was  fixed  on  the  main-truck. 


124      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  stir  among  the  crew 
about  the  gangway,  and  directly  after  another  face 
was  added  to  those  on  the  quarter-deck— it  was  that 
of  the  commodore,  Bob's  father.  He  had  come 
alongside  in  a  shore  boat,  without  having  been 
noticed  by  a  single  eye,  so  intense  and  universal 
was  the  interest  that  had  fastened  every  gaze  upon 
the  spot  where  poor  Bob  stood  trembling  on  the 
awful  verge  of  fate.  The  commodore  asked  not  a 
question,  uttered  not  a  syllable.  He  was  a  dark- 
faced,  austere  man,  and  it  was  thought  by  some  of 
the  midshipmen  that  he  entertained  but  little  affec- 
tion for  his  son.  However  that  might  have  been, 
it  was  certain  that  he  treated  him  with  precisely  the 
same  strict  discipline  that  he  maintained  towards  the 
other  young  officers,  or  if  there  was  any  difference 
at  all,  it  was  not  in  favour  of  Bob.  Some,  who 
pretended  to  have  studied  his  character  closely, 
affirmed  that  he  loved  his  boy  too  well  to  spoil  him, 
and  that,  intending  him  for  the  arduous  profession 
in  which  he  had  himself  risen  to  fame  and  eminence, 
he  thought  it  would  be  of  service  to  him  to  expe- 
rience some  of  its  privations  and  hardships  at  the 
outset. 

The  arrival  of  the  commodore  changed  the  direc- 
tion of  several  eyes,  which  turned  on  him,  to  trace 
what  emotions  the  danger  of  his  son  would  occasion. 
But  their  scrutiny  was  foiled.  By  no  outward  sign 
did  he  show  what  was  passing  within.    His  eye  still 


THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE.  125 

retained  its  severe  expression,  his  brow  the  slight 
frown  which  it  usually  wore,  and  his  lip  its  haughty 
curl.  Immediately  on  reaching  the  deck,  he  had 
ordered  a  marine  to  hand  him  a  musket,  and  with 
this  stepping  aft,  and  getting  on  the  lookout-block, 
he  raised  it  to  his  shoulder,  and  took  a  deliberate 
aim  at  his  son,  at  the  same  time  hailing  him,  with- 
out a  trumpet,  in  his  voice  of  thunder. 

"Robert!  cried  he,  "jump!  jump  overboard!  or 
I'll  fire  at  you." 

The  boy  seemed  to  hesitate,  and  it  was  plain  that 
he  was  tottering,  for  his  arms  were  thrown  out  like 
those  of  one  scarcely  able  to  retain  his  balance. 
The  commodore  raised  his  voice  again,  and  in  a 
quicker  and  more  energetic  tone,  cried, 

"Jump !  'tis  your  only  chance  for  life." 

The  words  were  scarcely  out  of  his  mouth,  be- 
fore the  body  was  seen  to  leave  the  truck  and 
spring  out  into  the  air.  A  sound,  between  a  shriek 
and  groan,  burst  from  many  lips.  The  father  spoke 
not — sighed  not — indeed  he  did  not  seem  to  breathe. 
For  a  moment  of  intense  interest  a  pin  might  have 
been  heard  to  drop  on  deck.  With  a  rush  like  that 
of  a  cannon  ball,  the  body  descended  to  the  water, 
and  before  the  waves  closed  over  it,  twenty  stout 
fellows,  among  them  several  officers,  had  dived  from 
the  bulwarks.  Another  short  period  of  anxious 
suspense  ensued^  He  rose — he  was  alive  !  his  arms 
were  seen  to  move !— he  struck  out  towards  the 
H2 


126      THE  MAIN-TRUCK,  OR  A  LEAP  FOR  LIFE. 

ship ! — and  despite  the  discipline  of  a  man-of-war^ 
three  loud  huzzas,  an  outburst  of  unfeigned  andun* 
restrainable  joy  from  the  hearts  of  our  crew  of  five 
hundred  men,  pealed  through  the  air*  and  made  the 
welkin  ring. 

Till  this  moment,  the  old  commodore  had  stood 
unmoved*  The  eyes,  that  glistening  with  joy,  now 
sought  his  face,  saw  that  it  was  ashy  pale.  He  at- 
tempted to  descend  the  lookout-block,  but  his  knees 
bent  under  him ;  he  seemed  to  gasp  for  breath,  and 
put  up  his  hand,  as  if  to  tear  open  his  vest ;  but  be- 
fore he  accomplished  his  object,  he  staggered  for- 
ward, and  would  have  fallen  on  the  deck,  had  he 
not  been  caught  by  old  Black  Jake.  He  was  borne 
into  his  cabin,  where  the  surgeon  attended  him, 
whose  utmost  skill  was  required  to  restore  his  mind 
to  its  usual  equability  and  self-command,  in  which 
he  at  last  happily  succeeded.  As  soon  as  he  re- 
covered from  the  dreadful  shock,  he  sent  for  Bob, 
and  had  a  long  confidential  conference  with  him ; 
and  it  was  noticed  when  the  little  fellow  left  the 
cabin  that  he  was  in  tears. 

The  next  day  we  sent  down  our  taunt  and  dashy 
poles,  and  replaced  them  with  the  stump-to'gallant- 
masts ;  and  on  the  third,  we  weighed  anchor,  and 
made  sail  for  Gibraltar. 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


H3 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


I  am  beset  and  stunned, 

And  every  sense  bewildered.    Violent  men! 
If  ye  unto  this  fearful  pitch  are  bent — 
When  such  necessity  is  pressed  upon  me, 
What  doth  avail  resistance^  s 

Joanna  Baillie. 

A  gusty  September  day  was  drawing  to  a  close ; 
and  the  prospect  from  the  little  cabin  on  the  sea- 
coast,  where  our  story  opens,  was  unusually  bleak 
for  the  season.  The  house  was  situated  in  a 
nook,  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  high  hills,  which 
bounded  the  view  on  three  sides,  while  on  the  fourth 
nothing  met  the  eye  but  the  monotonous  ocean,  for 
ever  rolling  its  surges  to  the  shore.  The  hills,  be- 
hind the  cabin,  were  sandy  and  barren,  and  afforded 
scanty  nourishment  to  the  dwarl  pines  and  cedars 
which  clothed  their  ridgy  sides.  Whatever  soil  of  a 
more  fertile  kind  once  covered  them,  had  been 
washed  by  many  a  storm  to  the  area  below,  which 
was  enclosed  and  cultivated  as  a  vegetable  garden, 


180 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


and  yielded  hardly  enough  to  pay  the  labourer  for 
his  toil. 

The  day  in  question  was  blustering  and  cold,  and 
contrasted  strongly  with  the  previous  one,  when  not 
a  breath  of  wind  had  mitigated  the  fervour  of  the 
sun,  which  glared  on  the  burning  waters  and  spark- 
ling sands,  till  the  air  quivered  like  the  atmosphere 
of  a  furnace,  and  objects  seen  through  it  had  a 
vibratory  and  dazzling  appearance.  But  with  that 
suddenness  of  change  so  frequent  in  our  climate,  this 
sultry  day  was  succeeded  by  one  uncomfortably 
cold,  and  a  person  might  almost  fancy  he  had  passed 
in  a  night  from  September  to  January,  or  from  the 
torrid  to  the  frigid  zone.  A  dense  volume  of  smoke 
poured  from  the  chimney  of  the  little  cabin,  and 
diffusing  itself  over  the  hill  in  the  rear,  added  to  the 
indistinctness  of  the  dusky  landscape.  The  ocean 
was  roughened  by  billows,  which,  at  a  distance, 
leaped  and  tumbled  in  multitudinous  confusion,  and 
as  they  approached  the  shore,  extended  into  long 
curling  ridges,  which  rolled  up  and  broke  upon  the 
beach,  with  a  sullen  and  melancholy  roar.  The 
sky  was  overcast,  and  a  driving  scud  floated  so 
low  that  it  seemed  to  touch  the  summit  of  the  hills 
as  it  hurried  by.  As  night  approached,  the  wind 
grew  more  chilly,  and  it  had  that  damp  and  clammy 
feeling  which  characterizes  our  easterly  storms. 

At  some  distance  to  the  left  of  the  cabin,  a  group 
of  seamen  sat  on  the  beach,  under  the  lee  of  a  spur 


tflRfe  AND  WATEtt. 


131 


or  projection  of  one  of  the  hills.  At  anchor,  oppo- 
site to  them,  just  beyond  the  break  of  the  surf,  lay  a 
small  schooner,  the  size  and  model  of  which,  her 
taunt,  raking  masts,  sharp  bows,  and  general  trig 
appearance,  showed  she  was  one  of  those  fine  sea- 
boats,  in  which  our  hardy  pilots  cruise  off  for  weeks 
together,  and  brave  all  the  vicissitudes  and  perils  of 
the  sea.  She  lay  rolling  and  heaving  in  the  swell 
with  an  easy  motion,  and  floated  on  the  surface,  as 
light  and  buoyant  as  a  cork.  A  small  boat,  painted 
in  the  same  fashion  with  the  schooner,  was  hauled 
up  and  turned  bottom  upwards  on  the  beach,  fur- 
nishing a  rest  against  which  some  of  the  men  care- 
lessly leaned,  while  others  trimmed  a  fire,  the 
smoke  of  which  rolled  up  from  the  midst  of  the 
circle. 

"We  shall  have  a  gale  to-night,"  said  one  of 
them,  as  he  eyed  the  weather,  and  held  the  back  of 
his  skinny  hand  to  the  wind,  with  the  knowing  air 
of  an  experienced  seaman;  "it  will  blow  great  guns 
before  morning." 

"  Yes,  and  I'm  thinking,"  said  another,  turning 
his  eyes  seaward,  "  that  yonder  black  privateer- 
looking  craft  in  the  offing  had  better  stand  out  for 
sea- room,  instead  of  backing  and  filling  round  here, 
like  a  cooper  round  a  water-cask.  If  she  don't 
mind  her  weather  helm,  she'll  be  slap  ashore  before 
she's  much  older." 


132 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


"She's  a  regular  built  beauty,  any  how,"  ob- 
served a  third.  "  She's  as  trim  as  a  lady,  and  sets  the 
water  like  a  duck.  She  stays  like  a  top,  too,  and  lays 
dead  up  in  the  wind's  eye.  Now,  do  but  mind  her 
spring  her  luff." 

"  She's  a  suspicious  craft,  though ;  damn  my 
chain-plates,  if  she  is'nt,"  said  the  speaker,  who  was 
a  rough,  red-faced  man,  somewhat  stricken  in  years, 
with  small  gray  eyes,  that  twinkled  deep  in  their 
sockets,  and  a  mouth  like  a  mackerel's ;  "  I  hauled 
my  wind,  and  ran  under  her  counter ;  but  she  didn't 
want  a  pilot — no,  not  she  ! — and  didn't  even  tip  me 
a  thank 'e  for  my  pains." 

"What  thundering  short  tacks  she  makes!"  said 
another  of  the  group.  "  There,  she's  heaving  about 
again.  Ay,  that's  the  way  to  rub  her  copper  bright, 
and  keep  all  hands  busy,  like  the  devil  in  a  gale  of 
wind." 

"  They'll  have  business  enough  on  their  hands,  if 
old  Chase  gets  the  word  I  sent  up,"  replied  the 
elderly  man.  "  If  the  cutter  only  runs  down  to  take 
a  look  at  that  brig,  she'll  bring  her  to  in  short  order, 
and  make  her  sing  small." 

"Here's  a  hullabaloo!"  said  the  one  who  had 
before  spoken  of  the  beauty  of  the  craft,  which  fur- 
nished the  theme  of  conversation.  "  Can't  a  vessel 
lie  off-and-on  for  a  day  or  two,  waiting,  perhaps,  for 
some  word  from  her  owner  or  consignee,  without 
being  suspected  as  a  pirate  ?" 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


133 


"Pirate  or  no  pirate,  you  mind  my  words,"  said 
the  old  man;  "if  the  cutter  comes  down,  yonder 
black  and  rakish-looking  chap  will  be  off  like  a  shot 
off  a  shovel." 

"I  wish  the  honest  fellows  aboard  of  her  could 
hear  your  palaver,  Bill  Sneering ;  if  they  wouldn't 
clew  up  your  jaw-tacks,  I'm  mistaken.  They'd 
show  you  their  papers,  and  you  mightn't  find  it  easy 
to  read  them,  either." 

"Honest  fellows,  do  you  say?— honest  devils! 
A  set  of  piratical  rogues,  I'll  engage,  with  fingers 
like  fish-hooks,  that  hold  all  they  touch.  And  see, 
yonder's  the  fellow  that  has  been  staying  at  Jim 
Fisher's  cabin  these  three  days  past — just  the  time 
that  the  queer-looking  craft  has  been  dodging  about. 
I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  had  something  to  do  with 
her." 

"  Small  helm,  Bill,  small  helm !  What's  the  use 
of  yawing  about  in  that  style  ?  There's  no  telling 
which  way  you'll  drive  next.  What  has  the  young 
man  done,  that  you  must  let  fly  a  shot  at  him  ?" 

"  What?  Why  what  is  he  doing  here,  alone, 
and  without  any  acknowledged  business  ?  Why 
does  he  bear  away  when  any  one  sheers  alongside 
of  him,  as  if  he  was  afraid  to  show  the  cut  of  his  jib  ? 
And  why  does  he  keep  such  a  bright  lookout  for 
that  brig  from  morning  to  night,  tacking  when  she 
tacks,  and  watching  all  her  motions,  as  close  as  a 
shark  does  a  Guinea  ship  ?    I  tell  you  what,  that 


134 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


'mawphrodite  yonder  is  either  a  smuggler  or  pirate, 
and  that  young  fellow  has  more  to  do  with  her  than 
he  cares  to  have  known." 

"Come,  side  out  for  a  bend!"  said  one  of  the 
group,  rising  to  his  feet.  "  Avast,  Bill  Sneering, 
and  take  a  turn  o'  that.  Come,  lads,  let's  freshen 
the  nip  all  round,  and  then  be  off.  It  is  time  we 
were  under  way." 

So  saying,  he  drew  from  underneath  the  boat  a 
bottle  and  tin  cup,  poured  out  a  draught,  and  tossed 
it  off.  As  he  finished,  he  drew  a  long  breath, 
and  attested  the  excellence  of  the  beverage  with  a 
hearty  smack.  The  others  either  did  not  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  this  eulogium,  or  were  not 
disposed  to  trust  their  comrade's  evidence.  Every 
man  chose  to  judge  for  himself,  and  that  the  decision 
might  rest  on  a  proper  foundation,  they  gave  the 
matter  a  full  trial,  each  helping  himself  to  such  a 
portion  of  the  contents  of  the  bottle  as  might  leave 
no  doubt  as  to  its  quality.  This  grave  business 
duly  despatched,  they  turned  their  boat  upon  its 
keel,  ran  it  into  the  surf,  and  returned  to  their  little 
schooner,  the  white  canvass  of  which  soon  glanced 
at  a  distance,  like  a  sea-bird  on  the  edge  of  the  hori- 
zon. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  individual  who  had  been, 
in  part,  the  subject  of  conversation  among  these 
pilots,  continued  to  walk  along  the  beach,  pausing 
now  and  then  to  gaze  seaward  over  the  wide  waste 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


135 


of  billows,  which  tossed  their  foaming  crests  about, 
like  a  turbaned  host  in  all  the  confusion  of  slaugh- 
terous fight.  He  was  a  pale  young  man,  of  a  slen- 
der figure,  and  rather  above  the  middle  size.  His 
hazel  eyes  lighted  a  countenance  the  cast  of  which 
was  melancholy  and  contemplative.  His  mouth 
had  a  mingled  expression  of  sweetness  and  irasci- 
bility ;  the  one,  probably,  the  effect  of  natural  tem- 
per, and  the  other  of  ill  health.  His  brown  hair 
clustered  thickly  round  a  high  and  pallid  brow,  on 
which  the  lines  of  anxious  thought  were  imprinted. 

The  vessel  to  which  he  occasionally  turned  his 
gaze  was  such  a  craft  as  a  seaman's  eye  delights  to 
look  upon.  Her  long  and  graceful  hull,  of  un- 
mingled-blackness,  was  formed  on  the  best  model  of 
marine  symmetry ;  and  her  spars  ascended  to  a 
height  which,  to  an  unpractised  observer,  might 
seem  to  threaten  continual  danger.  She  was  of 
that  description  of  vessels  which  combine  the  charac- 
ter of  brig  and  schooner.  Forward,  she  was  a  brig ; 
and  her  sails,  gradually  decreasing  as  they  rose  one 
above  another,  dwindled  at  last  almost  to  a  point, 
and  presented  an  appearance  like  the  surface  of  a 
pyramid.  Abaft,  her  mast  was  formed  of  one  long 
taper  spar,  (a  noble  stick  ! )  which  raked  so  far  over 
that  it  seemed  in  danger  of  falling,  and  yet  supported 
a  sail  of  such  extent  that  it  might  have  furnished  a 
main-course  for  a  frigate  of  the  largest  class. 

The  motions  of  this  vessel  had  in  truth  something 


lie 


F IRK  AND  WATER* 


in  them  well  calculated  to  attract  attention.  At 
one  time,  with  her  yards  braced  sharp  to  the  wind, 
she  would  stretch  far  out  to  Sea,  UlltiJ  the  propor- 
tions of  her  figure  were  lost  in  the  cloudy  atmos- 
phere, and  she  appeared  hut. 'is  a  speck  on  the  verge 

of  the  ocean.    Then  squaring  Sway  before  the 

breeze,  she  would  thrush  along  at  a  furious  rate 
towards  the  shore,  nor  haul  her  wind,  until  she; 
seemed  on  the  very  point  of  plunging  among  the 
breakers.  Jleryards  would  then  swing  round,  as 
if  hy  magic,  and  in  a  moment,  with  every  sari 
braced  up,  she  would  again  plough  her  seaward 
course,  her  taper  spars  bending  like  wands  under  their 
pressure,  and  her  keel  leaving  behind  abroad  track 
of  snow-white  foam  to  attest  the  velocity  of  her 

motion. 

The  manoeuvres  of  this  vessel  strongly  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  young  man  on  the  beach.  It 
might  have  been  that  the  abstract  beauty  of  the 
spectacle  won  his  admiration ;  (br  surely  there  are 
(ew  objects  of  more  t  rue  grace  and  majesty,  or  that 

lire  connected  with  more  interesting  associations, 
than  a  stately  and  well  managed  bark,  defying  the 
turbulence  of  the  ocean,  and  compelling  even  the 
adverse e  gale  to  speed  her  on  her  way.  Or 
the  interest  with  which  he  viewed  her  might  have 
been  because  there  was  nothing  else  on  which  his 
eyGS  COUld  repose  With  pleasure.  The  hills  behind 
were  rough  and  steril  ;  and  looked  dark  and  gloomy 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


137 


through  the  heavy  air ;  the  shore  was  sandy  and 
uncultivated,  save  one  little  plot ;  and  the  sea,  in  all 
its  wide  extent,  except  that  solitary  bark,  presented 
nothing  to  his  view  but  a  desolate  prospect  of  black 
and  tumbling  waves — deep  calling  unto  deep  with  a 
wild  and  melancholy  sound. 

Even  the  one  object  of  interest  which  his  eye 
dwelt  upon,  soon  faded  from  sight.  The  graceful 
movements  of  the  vessel  grew  indistinct — her  neat 
proportions  were  swallowed  up  in  the  increasing 
dusk  of  evening,  and  the  stranger  at  length  turned 
and  pursued  his  way  to  the  little  cabin. 

It  was  a  low-browed  building,  of  rude  exterior.  Its 
sides  and  roof  were  blackened  by  many  an  easterly 
storm,  the  dampness  of  which  had  also  caused  them 
to  be  overgrown  with  moss.  Implements  stood 
about,  which  denoted  the  occupation  of  the  inha- 
bitant. A  net  was  stretched  on  poles  to  dry ;  a  skiff 
lay  bottom  upwards  near  the  house ;  a  rake,  such 
as  are  used  in  taking  oysters,  leaned  against  the 
eaves ;  and  various  rods  and  other  kinds  of  fishing- 
tackle  were  scattered  round.  Within,  however,  the 
aspect  of  things  was  more  cheery.  The  furniture 
was  of  the  simplest  sort,  and  every  thing  was 
humble;  but  the  greatest  neatness  pervaded  the 
cottage,  giving  to  it  that  air  of  true  comfort  which 
without  neatness  can  never  exist,  and  showing  that 
the  part  under  female  superintendence,  at  least,  was 
properly  conducted.  And  thus  it  always  is.  There 
I 


138 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


is  no  condition  of  which  woman  is  not  the  better 
angel.  How  poor  an  abiding  place  this  world 
would  be,  were  her  care  withdrawn !  Man  may 
manage  the  business  of  existence,  but  its  elegances 
are  her  handiwork.  He  may  throw  her  off  in  the 
hours  of  strife  and  tumult ;  but  how  few  would  be 
his  intervals  of  peace  and  repose,  without  her  smile 
to  enliven  his  hearth,  and  her  hand  to  smooth  his 
pillow !  The  other  ingredients  in  the  cup  of  life  he 
may  mingle  himself,  but  she  drops  into  it  its  balm. 

Soon  after  reaching  the  cabin,  the  stranger  joined 
the  fisher  and  his  family  at  their  simple  repast,  of 
which  he  partook  with  an  appetite  he  had  earned  by 
his  walk.  He  then  retired  to  his  own  apartment,  and 
drawing  a  little  table  to  the  fire,  threw  fresh  fuel  on 
the  expiring  flames,  and  sat  down  before  them.  The 
wind  moaned  dismally  round  the  corners  of  the 
house,  and  the  roar  of  the  ocean  swelled  the  mourn- 
ful wail.  These  sounds,  perhaps,  gave  the  tone  to 
his  thoughts,  the  shadows  of  which  mounted  to  his 
face,  and  betrayed  their  nature.  He  leaned  his 
head  on  his  hand,  and  his  contracted  brow  and  com- 
pressed lip  showed  he  was  revolving  painful  sub- 
jects. Once  or  twice,  as  the  casements  jarred,  or 
the  wind  swept  in  an  abrupt  and  louder  gust,  he 
started  from  his  chair ;  but  becoming  aware  of  the 
nature  of  the  noise,  he  sank  down  again,  with  a  glow 
on  his  pale  cheek,  as  if  ashamed  of  his  nervous 
trepidation.    A  vessel  of  water,  and  another  con* 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


139 


laining  some  fluid  of  a  (Efferent  kind,  stood  on  the 
table ;  and  the  stranger  at  length  turned,  and  with  a 
precipitate  and  flurried  action,  as  if  determined  to 
dispel  his  unpleasant  meditations,  poured  a  draught 
from  these,  which  he  hastily  drank.  He  then  threw 
himself  back  in  his  chair,  and  closed  his  eyes,  and 
his  countenance  wore  the  constrained  look  of  one 
who  endeavours  to  force  his  mind  into  a  new  chan- 
nel, against  its  natural  tendency.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  unveil  the  young  man's  thoughts,  and  show  his 
naked  heart.  If  the  reader  is  charitable,  causes 
enough  for  his  uneasiness  may  be  readily  imagined, 
without  resorting  to  any  injurious  to  his  character. 
If  he  is  of  a  different  disposition,  a  wider  field  is 
before  him. 

The  stranger's  musings  at  length  took  a  more 
agreeable  turn.  His  brow  relaxed,  his  lip  curved 
into  a  smile,  and  his  breath  came  in  easier  respira- 
tions from  a  bosom  that  no  longer  heaved  with  pain- 
ful emotions.  But  in  the  midst  of  his  more  pleasant 
thoughts,  the  shrill  sound  of  a  whistle  interrupted 
their  current.  A  window  of  his  apartment  opened 
towards  the  ocean,  and  he  turned  to  see  whence  the 
sound  proceeded.  He  perceived  that  the  moon  had 
struggled  through  the  rack  of  clouds,  and  was  shed- 
ding a  dim  twilight  upon  the  earth.  By  this  light 
he  saw  the  brigatine,  which  all  day  had  been  lurk- 
ing on  the  coast,  now  again  standing  towards  the 
shore.    He  knew  it  was  the  same  vessel,  though 


140 


FIRE  AND  WATER* 


her  well-modelled  form  was  but  imperfectly  shown 
in  the  feeble  illumination*  She  ran  boldly  towards 
the  land,  and  approached  so  near  the  beach  that  the 
stranger  deemed  she  must  inevitably  ground ;  but 
she  suddenly  rounded  to,  and  her  foretopsail  was 
hauled  so  as  to  present  its  forward  surface  to  the 
wind,  which  had  the  effect  to  keep  her  stationary* 
A  boat  was  then  lowered  from  her  stern,  and  brought 
to  at  her  gangway,  and  three  dimly  seen  figures 
descended  into  it,  and  pulled  stoutly  to  land.  The 
boat  flew  through  the  water  with  great  velocity,  and 
as  she  drew  nearer,  her  crew  became  more  distinctly 
visible.  While  two  of  them  stretched  to  the  oars, 
the  third  stood  at  the  helm  and  guided  her  course* 
He  seemed  a  tall,  strong  man,  rudely  dressed,  and 
a  leathern  girdle  buckled  round  his  waist,  sustained 
a  cutlass  and  a  brace  of  pistols*  Before  the  keel 
grated  on  the  sand,  he  sprang  to  land,  and  strided 
towards  the  cottage.  He  was  followed  by  one  of 
the  men,  while  the  other  remained  to  guard  the  boat* 
The  young  stranger,  who  was  watching  their  move* 
ments,  here  lost  sight  of  them  for  a  moment — the 
next,  they  stood  within  his  apartment* 

"  Ha !  have  I  found  you  at  last  ?"  said  the  leader, 
in  a  low  but  energetic  tone.  *  I  have  sought  you 
far  and  near — but  now  you  are  mine  !"  His  olive 
complexion  grew  darker,  and  his  black  eyes  glitter- 
ed as  he  spoke.  "  It  is  well  you  are  up  and  ready  ; 
I  had  otherwise  ^ragged  you  from  your  bed." 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


141 


The  young  man  sunk  trembling  and  shuddering 
to  his  feet. 

"No  cowering,  wretch?"  resumed  the  other; 
"  you  have  played  the  woman  long  enough  ;  be  a 
man  now,  and  meet  boldly  the  fate  which  cannot  be 
averted." 

The  young  man  rose  to  his  feet,  as  if  about  to  rush 
from  the  room ;  but  the  grasp  of  his  foe  tightened  on 
his  shoulder,  and  he  sunk  again  into  his  chair.  He 
then  thought  he  might  alarm  the  house ;  but  the 
hand  of  his  enemy  was  pressed  upon  his  mouth, 
while  a  pistol,  which  he  drew  and  cocked  with  the 
other,  was  pointed  to  his  head. 

"  Speak  one  word,"  said  he,  "  utter  one  sound,  or 
make  one  effort  to  escape,  and  you  die  on  the  in- 
stant." He  uttered  this  in  a  tone  scarcely  above  a 
whisper,  and  hoarse  with  rage.  "Come,  follow 
me,"  he  added ;  "  I  have  no  time  to  waste  on  such  a 
wretch.  Remember !  one  faltering  step,  a  whisper, 
or  a  glance  aside,  and  a  bullet  whistles  through 
your  head." 

The  young  man  rose,  like  one  under  the  influence 
of  a  spell,  and  followed  his  dark  foeman,  as  he 
passed  with  noiseless  stride  out  of  the  house.  He 
was  himself  followed  by  the  attendant,  who,  like  his 
superior,  held  a  cocked  pistol,  ready  to  fire  on  the 
first  doubtful  sound  or  motion.  They  reached  the 
boat,  the  prisoner  was  thrust  into  it,  and  it  was 
shoved  off.  A  dozen  strokes  of  the  oars  set  them 
12 


142 


F|S|  AND  WATER. 


alongside  the  brigatine.  They  mounted  to  her 
deck,  the  boat  was  dropped  and  run  up,  and  the 
vessel  filled  away.  All  this  was  done  in  profound 
silence.  The  prisoner  was  now  permitted  to  move 
about  the  deck  uncontrolled ;  but  the  keen  eyes  of 
his  stern  enemy,  as  he  stood  near  the  helm,  and  di- 
rected the  course  of  the  vessel  and  the  motions  of 
the  crew  by  signs,  were  riveted  on  his  victim. 

The  brig  stood  out  to  sea  and  cut  through  the 
water  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  cabin  of  the  fisherman 
on  the  shore  was  already  undistinguishable  from  the 
dark  back -ground  of  hills,  and  these  also  had  lost 
their  distinctness  of  outline,  and  were  fast  vanishing 
in  the  gloom.  A  cry  of"  sail  oh  !"  from  aloft  first 
broke  the  silence.  It  was  not  necessary  to  follow 
this  announcement  with  the  usual  questions.  The 
vessel  reported  rushed  into  plain  sight  as  she  opened 
a  point  of  land  that  had  concealed  her.  As  the  eye 
of  the  commander  of  the  brigatine  rested  on  her,  a 
tremour  shook  his  frame.  For  a  moment  he  stood 
studying  her  through  his  glass ;  then  dashing  it  on 
deck,  he  addressed  rapid  orders  to  his  crew.  All 
hands  were  immediately  busied  in  making  sail  and 
working  ship.  Though  the  wind  whistled  wildly 
through  the  cordage,  a  ringtail  was  added  to  the 
mainsail,  and  every  sail  that  would  draw  was  set. 
It  was  soon  evident  that  the  strange  vessel  was 
chasing  the  brigatine,  and  it  became  necessary  that 
all  hands  should  assist  in  working  the  latter,  to 


FIRE  AND  WATER.  143 
> 

which  end  the  lookouts  were  called  from  forward 
and  aloft. 

*  Here  !  let  this  trembling  wretch  go  on  the  fore- 
topsail-yard,"  cried  the  commander.  "  He  can  re- 
port if  any  other  sail  heaves  in  sight,  or  at  any  rate 
he  will  there  be  out  of  the  way.  What,  coward  ! 
do  you  shrink  ?  Nay,  then,  by  heaven !  you  shall 
go.  Here,  Tom,  take  this  pistol,  and  follow  him 
up  the  rigging.  If  he  refuses  or  falters,  shoot  him 
dead." 

The  poor  object  of  this  persecution  shuddered, 
and  cold  drops  of  sweat  bedewed  his  forehead ;  but 
opposition  would  have  been  worse  than  useless, 
and  in  the  hope  that  some  turn  might  yet  release 
him  from  his  dreadful  thraldom,  he  began  to  climb 
the  shrouds.  He  trembled  so  violently,  that  this 
would  not  have  been  an  easy  task  had  the  brig  been 
lying  at  rest ;  but  she  was  now  pitching  and  rolling 
heavily,  and  it  seemed  to  him,  as  he  was  swept  to 
and  fro  through  the  air,  that  the  next  motion  would 
inevitably  hurl  him  into  the  sea.  At  last,  however, 
he  reached  the  topsail-yard,  and  attempted  to  seat 
himself  on  the  dizzy  perch.  But  he  looked  down 
and  saw  the  waves  whirling  and  boiling  below, 
while  the  narrow  and  unsteady  vessel  seemed  to 
glide  away  from  beneath  him*,  and  the  mast  to  fall 
over  of  its  own  weight.  His  head  grew  giddy ;  a 
deadly,  sickness  came  over  his  fainting  soul,  and  he 
would  have  pitched  head  foremost  to  the  deck,  had 
13 


144 


72.1    A?"  "'i. 


he  not  been  upheld  by  the  str< 
who  ascended  with  him.  A 
thy  struggled  to  his  hard  £ 
prisoner,  if  left  to  himself.  \ 
and  be  dashed  to  pieces,  he 
mast  bypassing  a  bunt-ga 
body. 

The  strange  vessel  in  t 
overhauling  the  brigatine. 
crowded  sail.  It  but  buriec 
without  increasing  her  spee< 
to  weather  on  the  pursuer, 
as  sharp  up  as  it  could  be  hi 
lay  as  close  to  the  wind  as 
peiie:;:  was  alsj  vaii.  T:.- 
sailing  on  all  tacks,  in  hope 
some  point,  and  thus  obtain 
squared  away,  she  braced  fir 
then  on  the  other ;  she  tried  I 
the  bow,  abeam,  on  the  quarl 
every  way  the  stranger  outs; 
was  now  blowing  a  piping  no 
persed  before  it,  allowed  the  i 
between  the  higher  clouds.  1 
brigatine  called  his  crew  aft,  a 
earnest  words  to  them.  The  > 
an  instant,  when  the  men  wei 
ward,  and  directly  alter  issu€ 
each  bearing  a  hbgaag  fagm 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


145 


these  they  set  fire  to  the  vessel  in  various  places  * 
then  lashed  the  helm,  lowered  a  boat  from  the  lee 
quarter,  where  their  motions  could  not  be  seen  by 
the  vessel  in  chase,  and  jumping  into  it,  pulled  under 
cover  of  their  own  brig  towards  the  shore. 

The  fire  soon  caught  the  dry  and  pitchy  deck 
and  light  bulwarks,  and  spread  with  fearful  rapidity. 
The  unhappy  young  man  on  the  yard  looked  down 
on  the  scene  without  the  power  to  release  himself 
from  his  dreadful  place  of  captivity.  Even  could 
he  have  loosened  the  knot  which  bound  him  there, 
and  which  was  but  drawn  the  tighter  the  more  he 
struggled,  his  situation  would  have  been  little  im- 
proved. The  deck  was  already  a  sea  of  fire.  It 
had  caught  the  sails,  and  towered  up  in  a  pyramid 
far  above  his  head.  He  writhed  in  agony  and 
strove  to  shriek,  but  it  seemed  as  if  the  flames  which 
roared  around  him  had  scorched  his  throat  and  de- 
prived him  of  the  power  of  utterance.  He  felt  his 
flesh  shrivel  and  crack  in  the  intense  heat,  and  his 
garments,  as  he  moved,  chafed  the  skin  from  his 
body.  The  sails,  however,  were  quickly  consumed 
or  blown  off  in  blazing  fragments  into  the  sea ;  but 
the  wind,  which  then  visited  his  cheek  brought  no 
relief,  but  added  tenfold  anguish  to  his  blistered 
flesh.  He  turned  his  seared  eyeballs  towards  the 
shore,  and  they  fell  on  the  boat,  midway,  the  in- 
mates £>f  which  were  rendered  visible,  and  their 
savage  features  shown  with  horrible  distinctness,  in 


146  ax:  wathe. 

ibf  glare  of  the  burning  vessel.  His  foe.  towering 
so:^ :  toe  res:-  stoic  in  the  alter  part,  and  his  fa.ce 
was  turned  wiLn  an  expression  ; :  Denaisi:  ; ;  t.  as  it 
seamen,  towards      writning  victim,  whose  agonized 

notions  he  could  perhat-is  discern  in  the  hellish 

From  tojs  maddening  sight  the  tortured  wretch 
turned  :.:  wards  the  pursuing  vessel — bin  she  had 
desenei  me  boat  and  changed  her  course!  All 
bone  of  rescue  now  died  within  him.  The  flames 
were  fast  eating  into  the  mast  ai  the  deck,  and 
stresmu ar  sz  toe  err  and  grass 7-  spar  with  appaling 


ie  pitch  that  boiled  out  from  them 
f  the  conflagration-  The  victim 
ras  near  ai  hand,  and  ceased  to 
he  heat  came  ur>  wth  scorchm*? 
pitchy  cloud  of  smoke  wrap:  him 
::s  sunooatim:  f:-ds,  I;  passed 
see  again.  Tne  shrouds  were 
i~e  2.  jew  o_azmr  enos.  wnich 
ike  the  whips  of  furies :  and  the 
.mrered  for  a  moment  round  the 
ng  at  the  mast  hea.d.  were  now 

■  bound.  At  this  moment  the 
j  :  ward,  and  he  feh  the  mast 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


147 


tremble  and  totter  like  a  falling  tree.  She  slowly 
righted  and  lurched  to  leeward.  The  mast  cracked 
and  snapped — he  felt  his  body  rush  through  the 
air — the  spar  fell  hissing  into  the  ocean — the  cold 
water  closed  over  his  scorched  and  shuddering  body 
— he  threw  out  his  arms  and  made  one  more 
frantic  effort    to  release  himself — the  knot  that 

bound  him  suddenly  gave  way— and  But  we 

will  let  him  tell  the  result  in  his  own  words. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  young  man  was 
seated  in  the  same  apartment  of  the  fisherman's 
cabin,  to  which  we  have  already  introduced  the 
reader.  Writing  materials  were  before  him.  and 
his  pen  was  busy  in  addressing  a  letter  to  a  friend. 
We  have  an  author's  privilege  of  looking  over  his 
shoulder,  and  take  the  liberty  to  transcribe  the  fol- 
lowing passage  of  his  epistle  •; 

THE  LETTER. 

"I  shall  return  to  town  immediately,  for  I  do 
not  find  the  sea-air  is  of  any  advantage  to  my  health  ; 
and  this  sudden  change  of  weather  will  render  the 
hot  streets  of  the  city  endurable,  while  here  I 
am  actually  shivering  with  cold.  My  malady  is 
not  one>  my  dear  friend,  which  sea-air  or  change 
of  climate  can  remove.  It  is  seated-^not  in  the 
body,  but  in  the  mind — and  wherever  I  go  I  meet 
with  something  to  remind  me  of  my  loss.  Even 


148 


FIRE  AND  WATES. 


the  simple  but  kind  wife  of  the  humble  fisher- 
man with  whom  I  lodge,  does  or  says  something 
twenty  times  a-day  to  make  me  feel  what  I  have 
suffered  in  the  untimely  death  of  my  poor  Eliza.  No 
matter,  I  shall  soon  follow  her. 

%       jji       %       ^  * 

"The  limits  of  a  letter  will  not  allow  me  to 
tell  you  of  a  strange  adventure  I  had  last  night. 
I  was  both  burned  to  death  and  drowned ;  but  the 
particulars  of  this  sad  accident  I  must  reserve  for 
our  meeting.  You  will  conjecture  that  this  hap- 
pened in  a  dream — and  it  was  the  wildest  dream 
that  the  fancy  of  a  sleeper  ever  framed.  It  is 
curious  how  much  real  torture,  and  for  how  long  a 
time,  one  may  experience  in  a  half  hour's  slum- 
ber. I  have  a  very  vivid  idea,  now,  of  what  the 
martyrs  must  have  suffered,  and  am  amazed  at 
their  fortitude.  My  dream  was  suggested,  pro- 
bably, by  a  conversation  among  some  sailors,  which 
the  wind  wafted  to  my  ears,  though  it  was  not  in- 
tended for  them.  You  will  smile  when  I  tell  you 
out  of  what  slender  materials  my  sleeping  and 
feverish  brain  created  a  conflagration  and  an  ocean. 
When  I  waked,  in  all  the  horror  of  a  double 
death  by  fire  and  water,  I  found  that  in  my  slum- 
ber I  had  overthrown  a  pitcher  into  my  lap,  and 


FIRE  AND  WATER. 


149 


that  my  feet  were  toasting  something  too  close 
to  a  fire,  which  had  blazed  up  after  I  fell  asleep. 
I  ought  to  mention  that  I  had  taken  a  rather  larger 
draught  than  usual  of  my  opiate  mixture.  Of  such 
shreds  dreams  are  made  ! 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

*Tis  fearful,  on  the  broad-back' d  waves, 
To  feel  them  shake,  and  hear  them  roar- 
Beneath,  unsounded,  dreadful  caves ; 
Around,  no  cheerful  shore. 
Yet,  midst  this  solemn  world,  what  deeds  are  done ! 

Dana. 

"Seven  bells,  quartermaster !"  cried  the  sentry 
from  the  gun- deck. 

The  binnacle  timepiece  was  out  of  repair,  and  the 
ship's  time  was  kept,  in  the  mean  while,  by  a  half- 
hourglass,  under  charge  of  the  sentry  at  the  cabin- 
door. 

"  It  is  seven  bells,  sir,"  said  the  quartermaster, 
reporting  to  the  lieutenant  of  the  watch. 

"  Make  it  so,"  replied  the  lieutenant,  in  a  foggy 
voice ;  and,  directly  afterwards,  seven  loud  strokes 
on  the  bell  announced  to  all  the  ship  that  the  first 
watch  was  nearly  expired. 

These  were  the  first  sounds  which  had  interrupted 
the  profound  silence  of  the  vessel  since  the  bell  was 
last  struck,  half  an  hour  before.  It  was  a  delicious 
K 


154  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

tropical  night.  The  full,  round  moon  shone  down 
from  a  sky,  the  perfect  serenity  of  which  was  not 
disturbed  by  a  single  cloud ;  and  its  broad  wake  on 
the  sea  extended  far  away,  like  a  path  inviting  to 
some  "  island  of  the  blest."  There  was  just  breeze 
enough  to  fill  the  canvass  and  crisp  the  surface  of 
the  ocean.  The  billows  swelled  gently  up  into  the 
moonlight,  their  ridges  curling  into  playful  ripples, 
which  glittered  for  a  moment  and  whirled  away,  to 
be  succeeded  by  other  shining  undulations.  The 
water  was  of  the  intensest  blue,  except  where  thus 
checkered  by  mazy  streaks  of  brightness,  or  flecked 
with  tuft-like  spots  of  foam,  which,  here  and  there, 
some  little  wave,  saucier  than  the  rest,  would  fling 
from  it,  as  in  sport.  The  light  streamed  on  the 
deck  in  so  strong  a  flood,  that  it  seemed  transmuted 
into  silver  by  the  "heavenly  alchymy;"  while  the 
shadows  of  the  sails,  spars,  and  rigging,  lay  so  black 
and  well-defined,  that  the  ship  had  a  strange  appear- 
ance, as  if  formed  of  opposite  materials,  joined  in 
grotesque  mosaic.  The  sails  were  swelled  steadily 
out  by  the  breeze,  and  the  moonbeams  slept  in  their 
snowy  laps  so  softly,  that  they  seemed,  rather  to 
gleam  with  inherent  light,  than  absorb  the  lustre  of 
the  planet.  The  signal-halliards  were  as  white  and 
glistening  as  cords  of  glossy  silk ;  and  the  running- 
rigging,  and  even  the  tarred  shrouds  and  backstays, 
were  touched  with  a  thin  edge  of  radiance,  like  bars 
of  some  hard  and  polished  substance. 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


155 


The  ship  crept  gently  and  steadily  forward,  and 
the  slight  line  of  foam  which  she  left  sparkled  with 
the  brilliancy  of  frostwork.  She  was  a  gallant 
frigate,  and  glided  on  her  course  under  a  full  spread 
of  canvass.  The  wind  was  on  her  starboard-quar- 
ter ;  and  on  every  mast  wide  volumes  of  sails  were 
extended,  which  rose  tapering,  one  above  another, 
in  airy  swells,  till  the  loftiest,  dwindled  almost  to  a 
point,  looked  like  a  little  fleecy  cloud.  So  even  and 
placid  was  her  motion,  that  she  seemed  at  perfect 
rest ;  and  her  progress  was  only  betrayed  by  the 
bank  of  foam  round  her  bows,  and  the  whitened 
eddies  in  her  wake.  The  silence  on  board  was 
scarcely  broken  by  the  low  wash  of  the  sea  against 
her  sides,  which  had  an  indistinct  and  lulling  sound, 
that  harmonized  with  the  faint-heard  respiration  of 
the  sleeping  crew,  and  heightened  the  effect  of  the 
pervading  quiet.  Her  upper-deck  seemed  almost 
deserted.  The  watch,  for  the  most  part,  lay  hid  in 
the  shade  of  the  bulwarks ;  and  such  as  remained 
at  their  posts,  preserved  a  stillness  in  keeping  with 
the  scene.  The  men  at  the  wheel,  on  whose  white 
dresses  the  moonlight  streamed,  looked  like  figures 
carved  in  marble ;  while  those  who  stood  in  shadow 
resembled  statues  of  bronze. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  on  board  the  frigate 
which  furnishes  the  incidents  of  this  story,  when  the 
silence  was  interrupted  by  the  report  of  seven  bells. 
The  lieutenant  of  the  watch  straightened  himself  up, 


156  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY, 

cleared  his  voice,  and  hailed  the  look-outs  through 
his  trumpet. 

"  Keep  a  bright  lookout  there,  forward!" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  was  promptly  answered  from  both 
catheads ;  and  the  same  order,  followed  by  the  same 
reply,  was  repeated  to  all  the  stations. 

"Four,  two,  sir;"  said  the  "master's-mate  of  the 
watch,  who  had  been  aft  heaving  the  log,  and  now 
reported  the  ship's  rate  to  the  officer  of  the  deck. 

"  Give  her  four  knots,  sir — her  course  the  same 
and  the  master's-mate  disappeared  down  the  com- 
panion hatchway  to  make  the  entry  on  the  log- 
slate. 

The  lieutenant  roused  himself,  and  descending 
from  the  lookout  ladder,  began  to  bustle  about,  as  if 
to  atone  by  activity  in  the  last  half  hour  of  his 
watch,  for  the  drowsiness  he  had  indulged  during 
the  previous  portion.  He  was  one  of  a  class  of 
officers  happily  not  numerous.  A  perfect  sailor,  so 
far  as  acquaintance  with  the  practical  details  of  his 
profession  constitutes  one,  his  knowledge  embraced 
little  else  beyond  mere  external  and  frivolous  ac- 
complishments. He  was  supple  and  cringing  to  his 
superiors,  but  haughty  and  overbearing  to  those 
beneath  him ;  and  much  of  his  time  was  past  either 
in  yielding  superfluous  deference  to  the  one,  or  ex- 
acting servile  respect  from  the  other.  His  person 
was  fashioned  in  a  handsome  mould,  a  circumstance 
of  which  he  seemed  fully  aware.    His  rank,  and 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  157 

the  high  reputation  of  the  navy  at  the  period — (about 
the  time  of  some  of  those  brilliant  victories  which 
have  conferred  enduring  fame  on  those  who  achieved 
them) — had  given  him  access  to  a  class  in  society 
to  which  his  intrinsic  qualities  would  scarcely  have 
introduced  him.  These  opportunities  of  refined  in- 
tercourse he  had  not  used  in  a  way  calculated  to 
advance  his  reputation,  or  furnish  very  agreeable 
topics  of  solitary  meditation.  He  was  still  in  the 
prime  of  manhood,  but  his  countenance  bore  strong 
traces  of  a  dissolute  course.  Dissipation  had  anti- 
cipated the  ravages  of  time ;  and  the  glass  of  the 
prematurely  faded  profligate  must  often  have  ad- 
monished him,  that  guilty  pleasures,  though  they 
may  shed  a  fleeting  and  false  glare  over  life,  in- 
variably waste  what  they  illumine.  Unhappy  the 
condition  of  that  man  whose  follies  are  his  epochs, 
and  whose  present  pain  is  the  only  memento  of  for- 
mer gratifications.  Such  was  the  case  with  Lieu- 
tenant Parral ;  and  a  part  of  his  imperious  deport- 
ment to  those  beneath  him,  might,  perhaps, 
have  resulted  from  that  acerbity  of  temper  which 
reflections  on  time  squandered  and  powers  misap- 
plied naturally  occasion. 

"  Mr.  Marling,"  cried  he,  to  a  midshipman  of  the 
watch,  who  stood  leaning  against  the  capstan,  on 
the  lee-side  of  the  deck,  and  whose  mind  seemed 
absorbed  in  a  train  of  pleasant  thoughts,  suggested, 
probably,  by  the  quiet  beauty  of  the  scene — "  Mr. 
K2 


158  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY* 

Marling,  you  needn't  trouble  yourself  to  hold  thai 
capstan  up,  sir ;  it  can  stand  without  assistance; 
Here,  jump  into  the  weather  gangway,  and  rouse 
up  every  scoundrel  of  the  watch.  What  do  the 
lubbers  mean  by  sleeping  at  their  stations  ?  Here, 
who  are  you?  rouse  up  here,  sir !"  continued  he, 
addressing  some  one  who  reclined  in  the  shade  of 
the  bulwarks  between  two  of  the  after  carronades, 
and  accompanying  the  words  with  a  smart  thrust  of 
his  foot.  "  Get  up,  here,  you  scoundrel !  get  up ! 
How  dare  you  go  to  sleep  in  your  watch  ?" 

The  figure  that  rose  up  at  these  words,  and 
stepped  out  into  the  moonlight,  was  that  of  a  young 
man  who  had  little  of  the  common  sailor  in  his  ap- 
pearance, except  the  garb.  He  was  tall  and  well 
shaped,  and  a  mass  of  dark  hair  fell  in  unregulated 
locks  over  a  forehead,  the  height  and  expansion  of 
which  gave  a  noble  air  to  his  countenance.  The 
treatment  he  had  just  received  might  have  kindled 
unwonted  fire  in  his  eyes,  which  were  dark  and 
brilliant,  and  rested  full  on  the  officer  as  he  replied, 
in  a  mild,  but  firm  tone. 

"  I  was  not  asleep,  sir,  and  should  have  obeyed 
your  order,  had  it  not  heen  seconded  by  your 
foot." 

"  How  dare  you  make  so  insolent  an  answer  f 
How  dare  you  answer  at  all,  sir!"  demanded  the 
lieutenant. 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


159 


"I  answered,  because  your  question  seemed  to 
require  reply.  To  have  remained  silent,  might  more 
justly  have  been  considered  insolent." 

"  I  asked  no  question— I  charged  you  with  being 
asleep." 

"And  I  replied  that  I  was  not." 

"You  lie,  you  scoundrel,  you  were?  How  dare 
you  contradict  me  ?  Do  you  forget  where  you 
are?" 

"  Indeed  I  do  not.  I  am  too  constantly  and  pain- 
fully reminded  to  admit  of  even  a  moment's  forget- 
fulness.  I  denied  your  charge,  sir,  because  it  was 
unfounded.  I  stated  but  the  simple  truth  in  self- 
vindication — there  is  surely  no  great  contumacy  in 
that." 

"So,  so!"  said  the  lieutenant,  in  a  voice  of  sup* 
pressed  passion,  "  a  fine  bird  we  have  caught  here  ! 
Will  it  please  you,  Mr.  Self- vindication,  to  step  for- 
ward as  far  as  the  main  fife- rail  ?  Mr.  Marling, 
send  the  boatswain's-mate  aft  here.  You  shall  be 
taught,  my  gentleman,  the  man-of-war  definition  of 
contumacy.  You  have  your  vocabulary  to  learn 
anew,  and  I  will  set  you  the  first  lesson  myself." 

"  I  trust,  sir,  you  do  not  mean  to  inflict  corporal 
punishment  upon  me?"  said  the  young  man,  his  eye 
glittering  with  meaning. 

"  I  trust,  sir,  to  remove  that  opinion ;  you  labour 
under  an  erroneous  impression — you  do,  upon  my 
honour,"  said  the  lieutenant,  in  an  ironical  tone. 
K3 


160  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


"Mr.  Parral!"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  "you 
surely  will  not  violate  the  express  rules  of  the  navy. 
Those  rules  were  framed  for  my  protection  as  well 
as  yours — they  are  designed  to  guard  the  rights  of 
the  subaltern  as  well  as  those  of  the  superior.  The 
commander  alone  has  legal  power  to  inflict  stripes. 
If  I  have  incurred  such  punishment,  report  me  to 
him — there  is  little  fear  that  he  will  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  complaint." 

"  Flog  first,  and  report  afterwards,  is  my  rule," 
answered  the  lieutenant,  in  the  same  sneering  tone. 
"  It  is  a  liberal  rule,  and  leads  to  double  payment. 
So,  sir,  strip  off  your  jacket  and  receive  the  first  in- 
stalment, by  way  of  smart-money." 

"I  bid  you  beware,  Mr.  Parral,  how  you  pro- 
ceed to  extremity,"  said  the  young  man,  in  a  con- 
strained tone,  but  his  voice  quivered  with  emotion. 

"So,  so!  worse  and  worse — from  insolence  to 
mutiny  !  A  mere  dislocation  at  first— now  a  com- 
pound fracture.  Hurry  along  here,  boatswain's- 
mate,  and  proceed  to  this  young  gentleman's  extremi- 
ty^— come,  sir,  you  had  better  step  quicker,  or  you 
may  chance  to  get  a  dose  of  your  own  medicine." 

The  boatswain's-mate  approached,  and  drew  forth 
his  colt — as  the  rope's-end  used  in  ordinary  cases  of 
punishment  is  called.  He  slowly  uncoiled  it,  and 
straightened  out  its  kinks ;  and  then,  taking  one  or 
two  turns  round  his  right  hand,  he  stood  holding  the 
other  end  loosely  in  his  left,  in  the  manner  practised 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  161 

by  those  experienced  in  the  use  of  that  instrument. 
The  young  man  stretched  himself  up  to  his  full 
height,  and  watched  these  preparations  as  the  eagle 
may  be  supposed  to  watch  the  advances  of  the 
mousing  owl.  His  lip  was  compressed  in  a  scornful 
curve,  his  brow  contracted,  and  the  orbs  beneath 
seemed  to  glow  with  concentrated  fire. 

"  Once  more,  Mr.  Parral,"  said  he,  "  I  bid  you 
beware !  You  may  inflict  this  indignity  upon  me, 
for  I  have  no  means  of  resistance ;  but  if  you  do,  as 
there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  you  shall  rue  the  hour !" 

The  lieutenant  marked  the  firm  air  of  the  young 
man,  and  it  seemed  not  without  its  effect  upon  him. 
His  cheek  lost  something  of  its  colour ;  or  it  might 
have  been  that  it  only  looked  paler  as  he  turned  his 
face  fuller  into  the  moonlight. 

"Rank  mutiny,  by  hell !"  muttered  he  between 
his  teeth ;  and  he  took  one  or  two  hasty  turns  on 
the  quarterdeck  before  he  continued :  "  You  may 
put  up  your  colt,  boatswain's-mate — this  is  a  case 
that  requires  deeper  surgery.  Mr.  Marling,  send 
the  master-at-arms  on  deck,  and  let  him  bring  a  set 
of  double  irons  with  him.  I  will  report  the  scoun- 
drel— he  shall  have  his  choice — I  will  report  him 
with  a  vengeance  !  Here,  boatswain's -mate,  start 
this  fellow  into  the  brig ;  and  do  you  attend,  Mr. 
Marling,  and  see  him  securely  ironed.  I'll  teach 
him  to  utter  mutinous  threats — I'll  give  him  a  lesson 
he'll  not  forget  in  a  hurry,  I  warrant  him !" 


162  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

The  young  man's  eyes  rested  on  the  officer  a  single 
instant  as  he  turned  to  descend  the  main-hatch  lad- 
der ;  but  that  brief  glance  conveyed  a  volume  of 
scornful  matter.  He  then  followed  the  boatswain's- 
mate  to  the  gundeck,  and  walked  unresistingly  to 
the  part  of  the  ship  allotted  to  the  confinement  of 
prisoners. 

"  You  might  better  have  taken  a  half  dozen  with 
the  colt,"  whispered  the  boatswain's-mate,  in  a  voice 
meant  to  express  kindness,  though  its  tone  was  not 
unlike  the  sob  of  an  expiring  north-wester.  I  would 
have  laid  it  on  light-— I  am  up  to  that — and  a  little 
stiff  grog  would  have  set  all  up  again*  But  them 
damn  cats  are  ugly  customers,  and  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  coming  the  gammon  with  them. 

"  It  is  better  as  it  is,"  said  the  prisoner ;  "  a  night 
in  confinement  may  be  easily  endured ;  and  in  the 
morning,  I  trust  the  captain  will  listen  to  my  state- 
ment." 

"  I'm  afeared  you'll  miss  stays,  if  that's  your 
reckoning,"  said  the  sailor.  "But,  howsomever, 
it's  no  use  palavering  about  it ;  so  keep  a  stiff  upper 
lip,  brace  taut  up,  and  weather  it  out  like  a  man,  my 
lad," 

While  the  boatswain's-mate  was  pouring  his 
rough  consolation  into  the  prisoner's  ear,  Lieutenant 
Parral  paced  the  quarter-deck  in  silence  ;  medita- 
ting, probably,  how  he  should  shape  his  report  to 
the  commander,  so  as  to  secure  the  most  exemplary 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  16§ 


punishment  to  the  young  sailor.  While  thus  oc* 
cupied,  the  sentry  reported  eight  bells ;  the  relief 
Watch  was  called ;  and  for  a  few  moments  all  was 
bustle  on  the  quarter-deck.  The  men  from  below, 
roused  from  their  brief  sleep  by  the  deep  cries  of 
the  boatswain's-mates,  swarmed  up  the  ladders,  each 
hurrying  to  answer  to  his  name,  as  it  was  called 
by  one  of  the  youthful  officers.  Directly  after,  the 
clear,  shrill  pipe  announced  to  those  who  had  been 
on  duty  since  eight  o'clock,  that  they  might  now 
seek  repose  in  their  hammocks  for  four  short  hours, 
unless  a  change  of  weather  should  occur  to  abridge 
their  rest.  While  this  piece  of  duty  was  going  for- 
ward, the  lieutenant  of  the  mid-watch  arrived  on 
deck,  and  Mr.  Parral,  passing  the  customary  word 
to  his  relief,  descended  to  his  state-room. 

When  daylight  dawned  on  the  following  morning, 
it  found  the  prisoner  sitting  in  a  melancholy  posture 
in  the  brig — as  the  place  of  confinement  in  a  man- 
of-war  is  termed.  In  the  vessel  in  question,  this  was 
between  the  two  forward  guns,  on  the  starboard  side 
of  the  gundeck,  and  immediately  adjoining  the  space 
appropriated  to  the  cooks  ;  the  litter  of  whose  culi-  ■ 
nary  preparations  was  profusely  scattered  around. 
The  prisoner  sat  on  the  deck,  heavily  ironed ;  and 
a  sentry,  in  the  coarse  fatigue  dress  of  the  marine 
service,  walked  to  and  fro  before  him.  The  wind 
had  shifted  during  the  night,  and  was  now  blowing 
fresh  on  the  larboard-beam,  which  brought  the  place 


/ 


164  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


of  confinement  on  the  lee-side,  and  caused  it  to  be 
wet  with  the  wash  of  the  spray,  that  every  now  and 
then  broke  through  a  weather- port,  and  ran  in 
streams  to  leeward.  Every  thing  around,  as  seen 
in  the  dim  and  smoky  light  of  dawn,  had  a  cheerless 
and  repulsive  appearance.  There  was  another 
person  in  the  brig,  a  tough  and  weather-beaten  sea- 
man, confined  for  drunkenness,  and  he  lay  stretched 
along  the  deck  in  the  torpor  of  death-like  sleep.  But 
"  the  balm  of  hurt  minds"  had  failed  to  lull  the 
senses  of  the  younger  prisoner,  whose  countenance 
bore  evidence  that  the  thoughts  which  banished 
slumber  from  his  lids  were  of  the  most  painful  and 
agitating  nature. 

There  was  something  in  the  appearance  of  this 
young  person  which  distinguished  him  from  his  rude 
and  uncultivated  associates.  It  had  been  remarked 
that  he  had  the  free  and  open  bearing  of  one  not 
used  to  crouch  before  superiors,  and  that  he  ex- 
pressed himself  on  all  occasions  with  unstudied  ease 
and  propriety.  A  '  rumour  prevailed  among  his 
shipmates  that  he  belonged  to  a  rank  in  life  very 
different  from  that  which  he  now  occupied.  Some 
ascribed  his  present  situation  to  the  disappointment 
of  a  romantic  attachment ;  and  others  imputed  it  to 
a  sudden  impulse  of  youthful  enthusiasm,  kindled  by 
the  fame  of  those  achievements  on  the  ocean,  which 
at  that  time  had  excited  proud  feelings  in  every 
bosom.    Nothing  of  his  history  was  certainly  known, 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  165 


however,  more  than  that  he  had  appeared  on  board 
the  frigate  on  the  eve  of  her  departure,  and  had 
asked  to  be  received  as  one  of  her  crew.  If  indeed 
moved  to  that  step  by  any  such  dreams  of  naval 
glory  as  some  of  his  companions  supposed,  poor 
youth  !  the  illusion  had  been  of  brief  continuance, 
and  was  already  effectually  dispelled  by  the  igno- 
miny of  his  present  situation. 

As  daylight  increased,  the  ship's  idlers  began  to 
move  about  the  gun-deck.  Does  the  reader  know 
what  description  of  person  a  ship's  idler  is  ?  There 
never  was  a  greater  misnomer.  He  is  any  thing 
but  an  idler — he  is  the  busiest  man  on  board — he  is 
an  idler  only  in  name,  and  must  derive  the  appella- 
tion from  the  rule  of  contraries.  The  steerage 
mess- boy,  for  example,  is  an  idler :  his  duty  is  merely 
to  wait  upon  some  dozen  midshipmen,  supply  all 
their  wants,  attend  to  all  their  caprices,  cook  their 
meals,  clean  their  dishes,  keep  the  steerage  in  order, 
and  obey  twenty  contradictory  commands  in  the 
same  moment*  "  Bring  me  such  a  thing  from  the 
galley,"  says  one  ;  "  Carry  this  into  the  cockpit," 
cries  a  second ;  "  Jump  on  deck  with  my  message," 
bawls  a  third ;  "  Stay  here  and  wait  on  me,"  roars 
a  fourth ;  and  so  on  through  the  whole  category. 
And  because,  to  all  these  impossible  duties,  that  of 
keeping  a  regular  night-watch  is  not  added,  he  is 
termed  an  idler.  A  ship's  idler,  if  he  had  as  many 
eyes  as  Argus,  and  as  many  hands  as  Briareus, 


160  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


would  find  employment  for  them  all.  But  this  is 
digression. 

The  idlers  began  to  move  about  the  deck ;  and 
two  of  that  privileged  class,  who  officiated  as  cooks 
to  different  messes  of  officers,  met  together  at  the 
galley,  to  commence  their  diurnal  avocations.  These 
worthies  were  of  that  race  upon  which  the  sun  of 
Africa  has  bestowed  a  complexion  that  defies  injury 
from  the  exposures  of  a  seafaring  life.  One  of 
them,  however,  seemed  to  have  experienced  its 
ardour  in  a  mitigated  degree,  and  was  only  browned 
to  a  dingy  yellow  ;  while  the  other  had  been  burned 
coal-black  by  its  fiercer  influence.  As  striking  a 
difference  pervaded  their  whole  appearance.  The 
saffron  official  was  tall  and  slender,  with  a  little 
body  perched  on  legs  like  those  of  a  pair  of  tongs, 
and  surmounted  by  a  knob-like  head,  as  round  as  a 
bullet.  His  sable  companion  was  short  and  thick 
set,  with  legs  of  that  shape,  that  if  he  had  been 
Collossus  and  bestrid  the  world,  his  feet  would 
have  met  beneath  it.  His  head  was  a  large  woolly 
excresence,  not  unlike  the  same  member  in  a 
monkey ;  and  it  was  set  between  shoulders  that 
seemed  to  have  been  seized  with  an  ambition  to  rise 
as  high  in  the  world  as  itself,  in  which  at  times  they 
appeared  to  succeed,  for  he  had  the  faculty  of  drawing 
the  latter  in  like  a  turtle.  The  jet  hue  of  his  counte- 
nance was  in  strong  contrast  with  the  ivory  whiteness 
two  huge  rows  of  teeth,  which  stood  out  from  his 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  1-67 


jaw  as  if  eager  to  show  themselves ;  while  his  lips, 
though  abundantly  large  enough  to  cover  them, 
curled  over  in  blubbered  volumes,  as  if  unwilling  to 
hide  the  lustre  of  the  obtrusive  masticators. 

"Ki!  Grummet,  only  look  dere!"  ejaculated  the 
figure  of  bronze  to  his  copper  companion,  as  his 
dilated  and  "  white -upturned,  wondering  eyes"  rested 
on  the  new  inmate  of  the  brig.  "  Bless  my  heart ! 
if  dey  haven't  got  Maurice  Seaward  in  de  brig  !" 

"  What's  dat  you  say,  Toggle  ?"  demanded  the 
other,  who  was  kneeling  at  the  galley,  and  kindling 
a  fire  in  its  grate ;  "  Maurice  Seaward  !  Why,  so 
it  is !  Now  what  can  that  be  for  !  He  aint  been 
athwart  any  one's  hawse,  I  know.  And  see, 
Toggle,  dey've  put  de  armourer's  ruffles  on  him, 
too!" 

"By  golly  !"  responded  Toggle,  " a  marlingspike 
to  a  belaying  pin,  dat'ssome  of  Mr.  Parral's  work  : 
he's  always  had  a  grudge  agin  that  lad,  because  he 
can  talk  as  high  die  as  himself ;  and  he  rides  him 
down  like  a  maintack.  I  don't  mind  seeing  an  old 
salt,  like  Jack  Girtline  there,  in  the  brig,  because  he's 
manured  to  it ;  and  would  rather  take  a  dozen  any 
day,  than  have  a  stopper  clapt  on  his  grog.  But  a 
young  chap  like  Maurice,  that  always  keeps  him- 
self square  by  the  lifts  and  braces — it's  a  regular 
built  shame !" 

"And  a  better  man  than  the  one  that  put  him 
there  too,  if  the  truth  was  known,"  added  Grunvnet, 


168  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


in  a  low,  grumbling  voice.  "I'll  tell  you  what,* 
Toggle,  a  settling  day  will  come  for  all  these  things, 
and  den  see  if  Mr.  Parral  will  hab  courage  to  stan' 
by  all  he's  done." 

"He  hab  courage!"  said  Toggle,  with  an  ex- 
pression of  great  scorn,  "pewter  courage,  I  guess." 

"What  you  mean  by  pewter  courage?" 

"  Why  what  melt  and  run  at  de  first  fire.  He 
is  brave  enough  when  there's  no  danger ;  den  he 
can  talk  big,  and  is  as  full  of  life  as  a  purser's 
cheese ;  but  let  him  get  in  a  breeze  once,  and  he  is 
taken  frat  aback  before  you  can  say  mainsail  haul. 
His  heart  drops  down  his  belly  like  a  deep-sea 
lead." 

"But  I  say,  Toggle,  you  don't  think  dey'll  bring 
Seaward  to  the  gangway,  do  you  ?" 

"I'm  apprehensious  they  will,"  responded  the 
man  of  ebony.  "He  won't  be  the  first  good  man 
that's  been  made  to  kiss  the  gunner's  daughter. 
But  avast  there,  Grummet ;  take  a  turn,  and  coil 
away  your  slack ;  for  yonder's  old  Clinch  and  his 
gang  of  waisters  come  below  to  wash  down  the  gun. 
deck,  and  it's  not  safe  talking  when  there's  a  ship 
cousin  within  ear-shot." 

Seven  bells  had  been  struck  by  the  time  the  piece 
of  duty  which  interrupted  the  conversation  of  these 
two  idlers  was  completed;  -and  as  that  is  the  hour 
when  the  hammocks  are  piped  up  on  board  a  man-of- 
war,  the  deck  soon  became  thronged.    Among  the 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  169 


officers  who  first  completed  their  toilet,  and  issued 
from  below,  was  Lieutenant  Parral,  who  immediately 
applied  for  admittance  into  the  cabin*  and  remained 
there  a  considerable  time  closeted  with  his  com- 
mander. When  he  left  the  conference,  his  eyes 
were  observed  to  glisten  with  a  sinister  and  satisfied 
expression,  which  those  who  knew  the  occurrences 
of  his  watch  were  at  no  loss  to  interpret. 

It  was  a  bright  sabbath  morning,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  forenoon  an  order  was  passed  throughout  the 
ship  for  the  crew  to  prepare  for  muster — an  order 
which  set  all  on  board  busily  to  work,  as  it  was  known 
that  it  would  speedily  be  followed  by  a  call  to 
prayers.  The  captain's  clerk  had  recently  been 
promoted  to  the  office  of  chaplain  by  the  commander, 
as  an  easy  way  of  requiting  him  for  certain  secret 
services  which  it  was  whispered  he  had  rendered. 
This  supposition  derived  force  from  the  fact  that  the 
individual  had  no  intrinsic  recommendations  for  the 
sacerdotal  place.  He  was  an  ignorant  and  flippant 
creature,  a  sort  of  male  Malaprop,  and  besides  was 
by  no  means  distinguished  for  perfect  purity  of 
morals  in  his  private  life  and  conversation.  Nature 
had  not  bestowed  on  him  a  person  which  it  was  easy 
to  display  to  great  advantage ;  yet  his  prevailing 
taste  was  for  dress,  in  the  indulgence  of  which  he 
had  to  contend  with  great  native  indolence  of  dispo- 
sition,  and  long  habits  of  uncleanliness,  which  some- 
times  had  the  effect  to  set  his  coxcombry  off  in  a 
L 


170  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 


very  ludicrous  light.  The  garments  of  this  Beau 
Nasty,  as  his  messmates  termed  him,  were  always 
incongruous  and  ill-assorted,  and  generally  exhibited 
all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  It  was  not  an  un- 
usual thing  for  him,  too,  to  carry  nearly  his  whole 
wardrobe  on  his  back  at  the  same  time ;  and  this 
was  particularly  the  case  with  respect  to  his  linen, 
which  his  indolence  prevented  him  from  changing, 
but  which  accumulated  upon  him  in  successive 
coverings,  till,  in  the  passage  of  the  frigate  from  one 
port  to  another,  his  body,  in  itself  lean  and  scraggy, 
would  gradually  acquire  the  appearance  of  consider- 
able portliness  and  rotundity. 

On  the  morning  in  question,  this  individual,  with 
the  natural  procrastination  of  lazy  men,  had  put  off 
preparing  himself  for  the  duty  he  was  to  perform, 
until  the  summons  of  "All  hands  to  prayers,  hoy!" 
was  expected  every  moment  to  resound  through  the 
ship ;  and  his  efforts  at  last  to  atone  by  haste  for 
his  delay  were  seriously  interrupted  by  his  fellow 
officers,  who  were  accustomed  to  divert  themselves 
by  making  the  chaplain  their  butt.  A  Hogarth  or 
Cruikshank  might  have  found  a  good  subject  for  his 
pencil  in  the  perplexed  countenance  of  this  newly  in- 
stalled sea-divine,  as  he  sat  in  the  midst  of  the  ward- 
room, half  dressed,  half  shaved,  and  surrounded  by 
his  scattered  integuments,  from  which  his  mis- 
chievous messmates  every  now  and  then  slily  ab- 
stracted some  necessary  article*  and  substituted  some 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  171 


other  in  its  place.  These  practical  jokes  on  the 
clerical  functionary  at  length  exhausted  his  patience. 

"Damnation,  purser,"  cried  he,  "give  me  my 
stockings !  I've  got  to  go  on  deck  and  preach  in  five 
minutes ;  and  I'll  hold  the  first  one  that  reirritates 
this  nonsense  personally  responsible."  As  the  par- 
son was  a  man  to  keep  his  word  in  such  matters, 
and  was  known  to  be  a  good  shot,  this  declaration 
had  the  desired  effect ;  his  companions  did  not  "  re- 
irritate"  their  tricks ;  and  the  summons  to  worship 
at  length  found  him,  externally  at  least,  prepared  to 
officiate. 

To  one  who  has  never  seen  religious  worship  on 
board  of  a  man-of-war,  at  sea,  the  spectacle  could  not 
to  have  an  imposing  effect.  The  sailors,  dressed  fail 
in  their  spotless  canvass  garments,  thronging  the 
quarterdeck,  and  listening  with  the  most  serious  at- 
tention ;  the  marines,  drawn  up  in  military  order? 
their  belts  as  white  as  mountain  snow,  and  their 
weapons  and  metal  ornaments  polished  to  the  last 
degree  of  brightness ;  the  officers,  arranged  about 
the  capstan  according  to  their  rank ;  the  chaplain  in 
the  midst,  using  that  engine  as  his  pulpit,  and  read- 
ing the  solemn  and  simple  service  of  the  Episcopal 
church ;  above  his  head  the  broad  and  snowy  wings 
which  are  wafting  the  stately  vessel  on  her  way ; 
and  around,  as  far  as  eye  can  see,  and  almost  as 
imagination  can  extend,  the  measureless,  fathomless, 
unchanging  ocean — the  image  of  eternity— these, 


172  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

together,  constitute  a  spectacle  of  the  most  impressive 
description. 

On  the  day  in  question,  the  wind  was  fresh  but 
steady,  and  the  sun  shone  pleasantly  down  from  a 
sky,  the  tender  blue  of  which  was  here  and  there 
interrupted  by  a  bank  of  fleecy  and  silvery  clouds 
sailing  smoothly  on  the  bosom  of  the  air.  In  all  the 
horizon  round  not  a  single  speck  could  be  discerned 
that  might  denote  the  neighbourhood  of  any  other 
thing  of  life,  and  thus  disturb  the  solitary  grandeur 
of  the  scene.  The  vessel  was  ploughing  her  way 
alone  through  the  pathless  waters  of  the  great  deep, 
and  the  congregation  assembled  on  her  deck  to 
worship  God  had  around  them  an  evidence  of  his 
power  and  majesty,  which  was  calculated  to  give 
the  most  devotional  tone  to  their  thoughts. 

But  that  the  scene  did  not  thus  affect  all  minds 
was  evinced  by  an  incident  which  occurred  in  the 
midst  of  the  religious  rite.  A  cloud  had  risen  un- 
noticed from  the  horizon,  and  while  the  chaplain  was 
in  the  act  of  pronouncing  the  solemn  words,  "  O,  ye 
seas  and  floods,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise  and  mag- 
nify him  for  ever!"  a  sudden  squall  broke  upon  the 
vessel,  which  threw  down  a  whole  file  of  marines, 
and  sent  the  chaplain  flying  and  sprawling  like  a 
Madagascar  bat  to  the  lee  scuppers.  Confusion 
and  bustle  now  took  the  place  of  reverent  worship. 
The  men  flew  to  their  several  stations,  and  the  voice 
of  the  commander  was  heard  above  the  wind,  shout- 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  173 

ing  out  his  rapid  orders,  mixed  with  discordant 
oaths. 

"  Jump  to  the  clew-lines,  men !  How  you  move ! 
how  you  move !  Let  go  the  halliards !  clew  up  and 
clew  down — haul,  you  damned  scoundrel!  haul! 
Keep  her  away,  quartermaster!" 

These  and  similar  commands,  boisterously  voci- 
ferated, succeeded  the  words  of  prayer  and  praise, 
in  strange  and  startling  contrast.  The  violence  of 
the  squall,  however,  lasted  but  a  few  minutes,  when 
the  wind  subsided  again  into  a  steady  breeze.  The 
sails  were  reset,  the  vessel  brought  to  her  course, 
and  the  crew  once  more  mustered  aft  to  listen  to 
the  rest  of  that  service,  of  the  effect  of  which  on 
their  commander's  mind  they  had  just  had  such 
abundant  evidence. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  religious  exercises,  all 
hands  were  called  to  witness  punishment.  This  call 
gathered  the  crew  in  a  dense  mass  in  the  weather- 
gangway,  forward  of  the  mainmast ;  the  marines 
were  drawn  up  in  file  in  the  gangway ;  and  the 
officers  grouped  on  the  forward  part  of  the  quarter- 
deck, leaving  a  small  semi- circular  space  between 
themselves  and  the  crew,  in  which  the  culprits  were 
to  receive  their  sentence.  The  master-at-arms 
soon  appeared  on  deck,  with  the  two  prisoners  from 
the  brig — the  young  man  with  whom  the  reader  has 
already  been  made  acquainted,  and  the  older  sailor 
confined  for  drunkenness.  The  chaplain  was  now 
L2 


174  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

called  upon  to  read  the  rules  for  the  government  of 
the  navy.  On  the  conclusion  of  this  ceremony,  the 
old  seaman  was  severely  reprimanded  by  the  com- 
mander, and  then  dismissed  to  his  fellows  without 
further  punishment.  The  young  prisoner  was  next 
arraigned :  the  charge  against  him,  of  having  slept 
on  his  post  and  uttered  insolent  and  mutinous  threats, 
was  stated,  and  he  was  ordered  to  strip,  while  the 
boatswain's-mates  were  directed  to  seize  him  to  the 
gangway.  He  was  pale,  and  seemed  moved  with 
strong  emotion,  but  betrayed  no  unmanly  weakness. 
He  begged  his  commander  not  to  proceed  against 
him  without  giving  him  a  hearing,  but  to  suffer  him 
to  explain  the  circumstances  which  led  to  his  being 
imprisoned.  He  referred  him  to  all  the  various 
officers  of  the  ship  for  evidence  of  the  general  tenor 
of  his  conduct,  and  to  Mr.  Marling  and  other  officers 
of  the  watch  when  his  offence  was  said  to  have  been 
committed,  to  prove  that  his  language  had  been  such 
as  the  occasion  fully  justified. 

"  Strip  off  your  jacket  and  frock,  this  instant,  sir !" 
cried  the  captain,  interrupting  the  unhappy  youth — 
"  seize  him  up,  botaswain's-mate  !  A  pretty  scoun- 
drel, upon  my  honour,  to  add  to  his  offence  by  inti- 
mating that  the  second  lieutenant  has  made  a  false 
'^**i*Jeport.  Seize  him  taught  to  that  grating,  and  now 
lay  on,'  and  give  it  to  him  well,  or  you  shall  have  a 
taste  of  it  yourselves." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  orders  of  the 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  175 

naval  autocrat  were  promptly  and  strictly  obeyed. 
We  must  take  leave  to  pass  hastily  over  this  part 
of  our  story ;  for  it  is  of  a  nature  that  no  mind  can 
pause  upon  with  pleasure.  The  white  and  tender 
body  of  the  poor  boy  was  laid  bare  to  the  lash  ;  his 
wrists  were  strongly  tied  to  the  gangway,  and  his 
ankles  to  the  grating  on  which  he  stood.  The  cats, 
an  instrument  of  torture  the  use  of  which  is  a  dis- 
grace to  civilization,  were  applied  to  his  back  with 
a  force  that  made  each  stripe  leave  its  mark  in 
blood ;  and  when  twelve  of  these  had  been  given — 
(the  full  extent  of  punishment  allowed  by  the  rules 
of  the  navy) — an  additional  "half  dozen"  were  or- 
dered, as  if  in  mockery  of  the  very  laws  which  had 
just  been  read,  as  furnishing  the  commander's  war- 
rant for  inflicting  corporal  punishment  at  all ! 

The  young  man,  after  undergoing  this  piece  of 
revolting  barbarity,  was  released  from  the  cords 
which  bound  him,  and  with  a  threatening  reprimand 
dismissed  to  join  his  companions.  Mr.  Parral  stood 
foremost  in  the  group  of  officers,  and  had  marked 
the  whole  occurrence  with  savage  satisfaction.  It 
had  not  extorted  from  poor  Seaward  a  single  shriek 
or  groan  to  greet  the  listening  ears  of  his  persecutor. 
With  a  noble  power  of  endurance,  he  had  sustained 
the  heavy  and  degrading  infliction,  and  no  outward 
sign,  save  the  blood  which  followed  the  stripes,  and 
the  involuntary  quivering  of  his  lacerated  flesh, 
betrayed  the  corporal  or  mental  agony  he  ex- 


176  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

perienced.  When  released,  his  cheek  was  deadly- 
pale,  and  his  lip  bloodless ;  and  while  listening  or 
seeming  to  listen,  to  his  commander's  reprimand,  his 
eye  rested  with  a  stony  and  almost  vacant  gaze  on 
the  face  of  Mr.  Parral.  There  was  something  in 
that  gaze,  however,  which  the  latter  could  not  brook, 
and  his  eye  quailed  before  that  of  the  young  man, 
whom  he  had  so  cruelly  and  so  causelessly  injured. 
But  this  scene  was  only  of  a  few  moments'  con- 
tinuance ;  the  prisoner  was  then  dismissed ;  and  the 
men,  being  piped  down,  dispersed  to  various  parts  of 
the  ship. 

What  became  of  Maurice  Seaward  during  the 
rest  of  the  day  no  one  knew ;  or  at  any  rate  no  one 
mentioned  his  place  of  retreat.  Towards  evening, 
he  was  seen  stealing  from  the  cable-tier ;  and  when 
his  watch  commenced,  he  was  at  his  post  on  the 
upper-deck.  The  wind  had  freshened,  and  con- 
tinued to  increase.  When  the  watch  began,  the 
light  of  day  yet  glimmered  in  the  west,  and  a  large 
pile  of  dusky  clouds  for  a  long  time  hung  over  the 
place  where  the  sun  had  disappeared.  These  gra- 
dually rose  and  spread  themselves  over  the  heaven, 
and  rolled  along  with  torn  and  ragged  edges,  occa- 
sionally mingling  together,  and  then  separating,  and 
indicating  by  their  whole  appearance  and  motions 
that  the  wind  would  soon  increase  to  a  gale.  To 
be  ready  for  this,  the  light  and  lofty  sails  were 
gradually  taken  in  and  stowed ;  the  topgallant-yards 

+ 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  177 


were  sent  down,  the  topgallant-masts  struck,  and 
other  usual  preparations  made.  Maurice  Seaward 
performed  his  share  in  these  several  pieces  of  duty 
with  as  much  alacrity  and  cheerfulness,  seemingly, 
as  he  had  ever  displayed.  This  was  a  subject  of 
remark  among  his  shipmates,  and  some  even  thought 
he  appeared  more  attentive,  more  ready,  and  gayer 
than  on  any  previous  occasion  ;  and  they  were  glad 
that  his  punishment,  which  they  had  been  afraid 
would  break  his  spirit,  had  passed  off  without  leav- 
ing a  deeper  impression  on  his  mind.  There  were 
others,  however,  who  watched  the  youth  with  dif- 
ferent feelings,  who  had  a  different  way  of  account- 
ing for  his  activity,  and  who  fancied  they  saw  in  his 
countenance  traces  of  thoughts  which  are  not  enter- 
tained by  those  who  can  lightly  forget  such  injuries 
as  he  had  endured. 

The  moon,  which  was  near  its  full,  occasionally 
shone  down  upon  the  ocean  with  great  brightness, 
and  would  then,  for  several  minutes,  be  totally  ob- 
scured beneath  the  racks  of  heavy  clouds  which 
were  drifting  across  the  sky.  It  was  during  one 
of  these  periods  of  darkness,  that  the  gale — which 
for  some  time  before  had  been  unsteady  and  fitful, 
now  coming  out  with  violence  in  puffs,  and  then 
dying  away  in  a  great  measure — burst  suddenly 
upon  the  vessel  with  unbounded  fury.  So  violent 
was  the  shock,  that  she  was  thrown  on  her  side  by 
its  force,  heeling  so  low  that  her  main  yard-arm  al- 


178  BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY. 

most  touched  the  water,  and  a  following  sea  broke 
over  her  and  nearly  completed  her  prostration,  be- 
fore it  was  possible  to  get  her  off  before  the  wind. 
This  startling  and  fearful  concussion,  more  effect- 
ually than  any  boatswain's  call,  brought  every  soul 
on  deck.  The  first  lieutenant  took  the  trumpet; 
the  others  hastened  to  their  several  stations ;  and 
for  some  moments  loud  orders  and  replies  sounded 
above  the  roar  of  the  tempest.  In  a  short  time, 
however,  the  ship  was  reduced  to  short  sail  for  scud- 
ding, and  the  confusion  and  tumult  on  her  deck  were 
stilled.  The  light  had  increased,  too,  for  the  moon 
was  now  wading  along  the  edge  of  a  cloud,  under 
the  denser  folds  of  which  it  had  for  some  time  be- 
fore been  completely  hid. 

At  this  instant  of  comparative  stillness  and  quiet, 
an  unusual  noise  arose  in  the  fore  part  of  the  vessel. 
It  was  a  momentary  sound,  as  of  the  shuffling  of  feet 
and  struggling,  and  seemed  to  come  from  the  top- 
gallant forecastle.  It  ceased,  and  was  followed  by 
a  plash  in  the  water.  Then  deep  silence  succeeded 
— and  in  an  instant  after  this  was  broken  by  the  ap- 
palling cry  of  "  a  man  overboard ! — a  man  over- 
board." The  crew  thronged  to  the  side,  and  those 
who  sprang  first  on  the  hammock-cloths,  or  peer- 
ed through  the  port-holes,  thought  they  saw  a  dusky 
looking  object  drift  rapidly  by.  All  rushed  to  the 
taffrel.  The  moon  now  emerged  wholly  from  be- 
neath the  cloud,  and  its  broad  light  falling  on  the 


BROUGHT  TO  THE  GANGWAY.  179 

billowy  and  tossing  sea,  rested  full  on  the  figures 
of  Lieutenant  Parral  and  Maurice  Seaward  ;  who 
clasped  together  in  a  deadly  embrace,  were  floating 
with  great  rapidity  to  leeward.    The  face  of  Parral 
was  already  black  from  the  strangling  grasp  of 
Seaward  round  his  throat,  and  his  eyes  stared 
forth  with  unnatural  protrusion.    Once,  the  two 
rose  together  more  than  half  way  out  of  the  water, 
as  they  were  thrown  up  on  the  crest  of  a  boiling 
wave — the  arms  of  Parral  were  spread  wildly  out, 
like  those  of  one  in  a  death  struggle,  and  some  fan- 
cied that  a  faint  shriek  reached  their  ears.  The 
figures  then  descended  in  the  hollow  of  the  sea,  and 
rose  no  more !    The  ship  was  brought  to  the  wind, 
and  buoys  and  spare  spars  were  thrown  over.  An 
attempt,  too,  was  made  to  lower  a  boat ;  but  she 
was  swamped  alongside,  and  the  two  sailors  who 
descended  in  her  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  Had 
she  been  able  to  live  in  the  heavy  sea,  however, 
the  intended  search  would  have  been  fruitless, 
The  objects  of  it  were  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
succour  or  human  vengeance.    Those  who  had  wit- 
nessed this  dreadful  catastrophe  remained  for  a  long 
time  straining  their  eyes  with  an  intense  gaze  on 
the  spot  where  the  victims  disappeared,  in  the  hope 
of  again  descrying  some  trace  of  them  ;  but  they 
were  never  seen  again. 


M 


A  "WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


Chanco  the  direction  to  my  motion  gave, 

And  plunged  me  headlong  in  the  roaring  wave; 

Swift  flew  the  parting  ship 

h  #  •*  # 

 1  have  not — man  has  not  the  power 

To  paint  the  horrors  of  that  life  long  hour. 

Crabbe 

When  I  was  a  reefer,  I  once  had  the  evil  fortune 
to  sail  under  the  command  of  a  captain,  who,  in 
nautical  technicals,  was  very  justly  termed  the 
hardest  horse  in  the  navy.  Among  the  vexatious 
means  which  he  devised  for  the  purpose  of  annoy- 
ing his  officers,  was  that  of  having  a  regular  sea- 
watch  of  midshipmen,  night  and  day,  in  the  tops,  of 
which  there  was  about  as  much  need  in  those  piping 
times  of  peace,  as  there  is  for  a  ringtail  in  a  gale  of 
wind.  It  happened,  one  clear  moonlight  night, 
when  we  had  a  spanking  wind  on  the  quarter,  and 
were  cutting  along  with  as  much  sail  set  as  we 
could  stagger  under,  going  at  the  rate  of  about  nine, 
two,  that  it  was  my  turn,  when  the  mid-watch  was 
called,  to  take  the  main-top.  This  was  no  very  dis- 
agreeable place,  after  all,  when  the  weather  was 
M  2 


184  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN -TOP. 

pleasant,  and  the  wind  steady  ;  for  (be  it  spoken  in 
a  whisper)  we  would  sometimes,  on  such  occasions, 
so  far  infringe  upon  our  military  duty  as  to  stow  our* 
selves  snugly  away,  in  a  coil  of  rigging,  and  snooze 
out  an  hour  or  two  of  the  long  and  solitary  watch. 
For  my  own  part,  I  had  done  this  so  often  that 
the  timidity  and  caution  at  first  attendant  upon  any 
deviation  from  discipline  had  gradually  worn  off ; 
and  it  at  last  became  so  customary,  that  as  soon  as  I 
had  got  my  head  above  the  rim  of  the  top,  I  was 
casting  my  eyes  about  to  see  which  coil  of  rigging 
lay  the  snuggest  for  my  bunk. 

On  the  evening  to  which  I  now  particularly  refer, 
however,  I  did  not  feel  disposed  to  sleep.  Knowing 
that  I  would  have  the  mid- watch  to  keep,  and  not 
feeling  very  well,  I  had  retired  to  my  hammock 
about  seven  bells  in  the  evening,  and  by  the  time 
that  the  lights  were  doused  at  eight  o'clock,  had 
fallen  into  a  sweet  and  refreshing  slumber.  The 
noise  on  deck  of  their  taking  in  studding-sails,  when 
the  wind  freshened,  did  not  waken  me,  and  by  the 
time  that  the  first  watch  was  out,  and  an  officer  sent 
down  to  call  the  relief,  I  was  so  completely  renova- 
ted by  my  sound  and  uninterrupted  repose,  that  I 
had  no  disposition  to  renew  my  slumber.  When  I 
got  into  the  top,  I  took  my  seat  on  a  coil  of  rigging 
where  I  could  lean  back  against  the  fancy-lines,  and 
throwing  my  arm  over  the  top-rail,  I  was  soon  lost 
in  contemplation  of  the  beautiful  scene. 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP.  185 

I  believe  I  said  before  that  it  was  bright  moon- 
light. As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  not  a  sail  was 
in  sight :  but  on  every  side  around  us  stretched  the 
blue,  interminable  waves,  till  they  seemed  to  meet 
and  mingle  with  the  heavens.  The  sky  above  was 
gemmed  with  many  a  star;  and  large  bodies  of 
fleecy  clouds  every  now  and  then  drove  across  them, 
for  a' few  moments  casting  a  deep  shade  over  the 
ocean,  which,  as  the  moon  again  emerged,  seemed, 
to  a  fanciful  view,  to  dance  and  sparkle  with  joy  for 
the  recovered  radiance.  As  soon  as  the  watch  was 
all  mustered,  the  boatswain's  mate  was  ordered  "  to 
pipe  down,"  or,  in  other  words,  to  blow  that  pecu- 
liar note  on  his  whistle,  which  signified  to  the  poor 
fellows  who  had  been  on  deck  from  eight  o'clock, 
that  they  might  now  seek  their  hammocks,  and 
snatch  a  short  repose,  before  they  should  be  again 
summoned  to  their  wearisome  duty. 

The  noise  of  the  retiring  crew  soon  subsided!;  the 
hail  of  the  lieutenant,  who  had  just  taken  the  deck, 
to  each  of  the  stations  where  look-outs  had  been 
appointed,  bidding  them  keep  a  bright  look-out,  ad 
been  made  and  answered ;  and  the  watch — forecastle- 
men,  waisters  and  after-guard— had  all  snuggled 
down  under  the  weather  bulwarks,  before  the  quar- 
ter-master reported  one  bell.  The  maintop-men 
were  not  slow  to  perceive  that  I  wa«  more  wake- 
ful than  usual,  and  instead  of  stretching  themselves 
out  to  sleep,  huddled  together  in  a  corner  of  the  top, 
M3 


186  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


and  began  to  amuse  themselves  by  telling  stories — 
or,  in  their  own  phrase,  by  spinning  yarns.  Jack 
Gunn,  the  captain  of  the  starboard  watch  of  main- 
top-men, was  first  called  on,  and  with  true  sailor 
alacrity  he  immediately  complied. 

There  never  was,  from  the  time  of  the  Argo, 
down  to  the  frigate  now  on  the  stocks  at  the  navy- 
yard,  a  more  thorough  man-of-war's-man  than  that 
same  Jack  Gunn.    He  had  sailed  in  all  kinds  of 
crafts,  from  a  Dutch  Lugger  to  a  Yankee  Line-of- 
battle  ship  ;  he  had  fought  under  the  flags  of  all 
nations  ;  and  it  was  even  surmised,  from  occasional 
words  he  would  let  fall,  that  he  had  handled  a  sabre 
under  the  blood-red  standard  of  piracy.  Whether 
this  was  so  or  not,  he  made  no  secret  of  his  having 
been  often  engaged  in  desperate  adventures  on  board 
of  smuggling  craft ;  and  the  number  of  suspicious 
looking  Frenchmen  who  recognized  Jack,  when  the 
cutter  to  which  he  belonged  was  sometimes  sent 
ashore,  while  we  were  lying  at  Cherbourg,  bore  no 
very   favourable   testimony    in   relation  to  his 
former   pursuits.    Yet  for  all  his  recklessness 
of  character,  and  for  all  the  many  unwarrantable 
enterprises  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  Jack 
was  a  good  fellow.    His  vices  were  those  which  re- 
sulted from  ignorance  and  thoughtlessness  ;  his  vir- 
tues were  the  warm  impulses  of  a  naturally  excel- 
lent heart,  which,  properly  nurtured  and  cultivated,, 
would  have  made  him  an  ornament  to  his  profession 
and  to  his  species.    I  do  not  believe,  for  all  the 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


187 


many  scenes  of  blood  and  rapacity  which  he  must 
have  witnessed,  and  in  which  he  most  likely  took  an 
active  part,  that  Jack  ever  did  a  deliberately  cruel 
action  in  his  life.  As  a  sailor,  he  had  but  few 
equals,  and  no  superior  in  our  ship.  He  did  not 
eat,  drink,  or  sleep,  like  other  men ;  but  was  always 
ready,  whatever  he  might  be  about,  to  spring  on 
deck,  and  lend  a  hand  in  any  thing  which  it  might 
be  requisite  to  do.  If  a  squall  struck  us  in  the  mid- 
watch,  and  it  was  Jack's  watch  in  at  the  time,  it 
made  no  difference  ;  the  surge  and  heeling  of  the 
ship  were  sure  to  wake  him,  and  the  first  thing  you 
would  know,  there  he  would  be,  out  on  the  weath- 
er yard-arm,  before  the  quarter-deck  midshipman 
had  got  half  way  to  the  fore  cockpit,  to  tell  the  boat- 
swain to  call  all  hands. 

But  it  was  of  Jack's  story  I  was  speaking ;  and  I 
do  not  know  that  I  can  do  better  than  relate  it,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  in  his  own  words. 


"  It's  now  near  twelve  years,"  said  Jack,  after 
he  had  deliberately  adjusted  all  the  usual  prelimina- 
ries, such  as  taking  in  a  fresh  quid,  laying  the  old 
soldier  carefully  on  the  cap  to  dry,  hitching  up  the 
waistband  of  his  trowsers,  and  comfortably  stowing 
away  his  hands  in  the  breast  of  his  monkey  jacket 
— "It's  now  near  twelve  years,"  said  he,  "since  I 


188  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP, 


shipped  the  first  time  in  the  sarvice ;  and  it  was 
about  a  year  before  that  I  was  concarned  in  a  bit  of 
a  scrape  which  I  shall  never  forget,  if  I  live  to  be 
as  old  as  the  Flying  Dutchman.  What  makes  me 
think  of  it  now,  it  was  just  such  another  night  as 
this,  only  it  happened  in  the  first  watch,  about  six 
bells,  or  so.  You  see,  I  was  then  in  the  little 
schooner  Nancy.  There  was  only  four  of  us 
aboard  :  the  skipper,  captain  Thomson,  who  for  two 
weeks  hadn't  been  out  of  his  birth,  and  who  wasn't 
expected  to  come  on  deck  again,  till  we  should  bring 
him  up  foot  foremost ;  Jim  Spenser  and  me,  the  only 
two  before  the  mast ;  and  the  boy,  a  sickly,  delicate 
little  fellow,  who  didn't  take  kindly  to  our  rough 
ways — and  no  wonder ;  for  what  with  cooking  for 
us,  and  overhauling  the  medicine  chest  for  the  cap- 
tain, and  doing  a  thousand  other  things  that  Jim 
Spenser  set  him  about  out  of  sheer  malice,  he  was 
kept  as  busy  as  the  devil  in  a  gale  of  wind.  Jim 
Spenser  hated  that  boy  worse  than  a  soldier,  and 
never  missed  an  opportunity  of  doing  him  an  ill 
turn.  And  yet  Edward  was  a  good  boy,  and  as 
civil  and  obleegin'  as  any  one  I  ever  fell  in  with  in 
all  my  cruisings.  I  never  could  exactly  account 
for  Jim's  using  him  so ;  but  he  was  brute  enough  to 
bully  over  any  one,  whether  he  had  cause  or  not. 

"  Well,  as  I  was  saying,  the  captain  was  very 
sick.  The  last  time  he  had  been  on  deck,  was 
when  we  took  our  departure  after  we  left  the 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN*TOP. 


189 


Straits,  and  he  had  given  up  all  hopes  of  leaving  his 
birth,  till  it  should  be  for  the  purpose  of  being 
launched  over  the  side.  Of  course,  Jim  and  I  had 
to  keep  watch  and  watch,  and  a  pretty  bright  look- 
out too,  for  our  little  Nancy  carried  a  taught  rag, 
and  we  took  advantage  of  the  stiff  easterly  winds 
to  crack  it  on  pretty  heavy. 

"I  had  the  second  dog-watch,  and  besides,  had 
been  knocking  about  on  deck  all  day  long ;  and,  by 
the  time  it  came[eight  o'clock,  I  was  glad  enough  to 
call  my  relief,  and  turn  in.  Jim  had  made  out  to 
get  into  the  skipper's  locker,  in  the  course  of  the 
afternoon,  and  had  started  rather  more  grog  into 
his  spirit-room  than  he  could  well  carry ;  so  that 
when  I  went  forward  to  the  forecastle  hatch 
to  call  him  to  his  trick,  I  found  him  in  a  deep  sleep, 
and  it  was  sometime  before  I  could  fairly  wake  him. 
At  last,  when  he  understood  me,  he  turned  out  of 
his  bunk  in  a  surly  humour  enough ;  and  as  he  stag- 
gered aft,  not  fairly  sober,  he  kept  grumbling  and 
growling  all  the  way.  Little  did  I  mind  his  heavy 
words  off  a  weak  stomach,  however ;  so  passing  the 
word  to  him  as  to  what  sail  I  had  carried,  and  how 
I  had  headed  during  the  watch,  I  left  little  Nancy 
in  his  charge,  and  stowed  myself  away  for  a  snooze, 
in  the  forecastle.  I  had  been  asleep  for  as  much 
as  three  hours,  I  suppose,  when  I  was  suddenly 
wakened,  by  the  sound  of  mingled  cries  and  curses 
on  deck,  and  as  soon  as  my  senses  perfectly  return- 


190  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 

ed  to  me  from  the  confusion  of  my  dreams,  I  recog- 
nized the  hoarse  and  angry  voice  of  sulky  Jim,  as  I 
used  to  call  him,  the  screams  and  supplications  of 
poor  Ned,  and,  mingling  with  these,  the  heavy  sound 
of  a  rope's  end,  apparently  applied  to  the  naked 
back  of  the  latter.  1  instantly  sprang  on  my  feet, 
jumped  up  through  the  fore-scuttle,  and  rushed  like 
a  streak  of  lightning  to  the  quarter-deck.  There, 
indeed,  I  saw  a  piteous  sight.  The  little  unoffending 
boy  was  seized  up  to  the  main-rigging,  by  a  piece 
of  ratline  stuff,  passed  so  taught  around  his  wrists, 
that  the  blood  was  oozing  from  them  in  drops ;  his 
feet  were  made  fast  to  the  lubber  grating,  and  the 
great  white-livered  bully,  Jim,  was  standing  over 
him,  his  red  eyes  red  with  passion,  and  his 
bloated  cheeks  pale  and  quivering  from  the  same 
cause.  In  his  hand  he  held  half  a  fathom  of  thirteen 
thread  ratline,  which  he  was  drawing  off  and  laying 
on  to  poor  little  Ned's  bare  back,  till  his  tender 
white  skin  was  all  over  streaked  with  blood. 

" 6  Hold  off  your  hands  !'  cried  I,  6  you  damned 
cowardly  lubber,'  as  I  jumped  before  the  wretch, 
just  as  he  was  about  dealing  another  blow. 

" 4  Stand  away,  Jack  Gunn,'  he  answered, 6  or  you 
shall  be  sorry  for  it,' 

" 6  Shame  on  you,  Jim,'  said  I  again, 6  shame  on 
you,  to  flog  a  poor  boy  in  this  dreadful  manner.'' 
You  see,  topmates,  I  was  a  young  hand  at  the  bel- 
lows in  them  days,  and  hadn't  seen  so  many  lashes 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP.  191 

given  at  the  gangway  as  I  have  since  ;  and  every 
cut  that  fell  on  the  poor  little  creature's  back  seem- 
ed to  go  right  to  my  heart.  I  couldn't  stand  it ;  so 
I  seized  Jim  by  the  collar  of  his  red  flannel  shirt, 
and  looking  him  right  up  in  his  eyes,  (for  he  was  a 
head  taller  than  me,)  says  I,  if  you  strike  that  boy 
again,  you  strike  me.5 

With  all  my  heart !'  answered  the  bully ;  and 
dropping  the  colt  from  his  hand,  he  grasped  me 
tightly  round  the  throat,  and  endeavoured  to  throw 
me  on  the  deck. 

"  I  didn't  take  time  to  think  what  I  was  about ; 
and  if  I  had,  I  don't  know  that  it  would  have  made 
any  difference,  for  my  courage  was  up,  and  I  felt 
as  wild  as  a  hurricane.  Yet  Jim  Spenser  was  no 
fool  of  an  antagonist.  He  was  upwards  of  six  feet 
high,  and  had  a  pair  of  fists  as  large  as  our  topsail- 
halliard  blocks,  and  arms  like  a  pair^of  lower  stud- 
dingsail  booms.  But  to  it  we  went,  pell  mell,  hug- 
ging each  other  with  a  tighter  grasp  than  ever 
friendship  occasioned,  and  tossing  and  tumbling 
about,  while  the  deck  shook  under  us  like  the  upper 
hank  of  a  foretopmast  staysail.  I  don't  know  how 
it  was,  but  Jim  couldn't  manage  to  get  the  upper 
hand  of  me  :  when  we  fell,  we  fell  together,  neither 
of  us  slacking  our  hold,  and  up  together  again  we 
would  get,  without  any  advantage  being  obtained  on 
either  side.  The  groans  of  the  poor  captain, 
who,  of  course,  heard  the  whole  of  the  scuffle, 


192  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


but  who  was  too  weak  to  attempt  any  interference^ 
were  distinctly  audible  ;  but  these  seemed  only  to 
add  fresh  determination  to  both  of  us.  During  all 
this  time  the  moon  had  been  shining  brightly  down 
upon  us,  rendering  every  feature  of  Jim's  swollen 
and  convulsed  face  as  distinctly  visible  as  if  it  had 
been  broad  daylight,  or,  if  it  made  any  difference 
at  all,  giving  to  him  a  more  ghastly  look.  His 
eyes  glared  on  me  like  a  wolf's,  and  seemed  ready 
to  start  from  his  head  with  rage  ;  his  teeth  gritted 
against  each  other,  and  foam  stood  on  his  lips  as 
white  as  on  the  caps  of  the  waves  around  us. 
The  poor  boy,  still  seized  to  the  rigging,  fixed  an 
earnest  look  on  the  conflict,  well  knowing  that  his 
fate  depended  on  the  issue, — and,  should  Jim  prove 
victorious,  a  dreadful  fate  indeed ;  for  I  do  really 
believe  he  would  have  murdered  him. 

"  About  this  time  a  deep  cloud  came  over  the 
moon,  casting  darkness  far  and  wide  upon  the  waters. 
We  were  both  of  us  nearly  exhausted  in  body,  but 
as  firm  in  our  purpose  as  ever.  Jim's  teeth  gnash- 
ed together  for  very  hate  ;  and  hugging  me  with  a 
still  stronger  grasp  than  before,  he  made  a  des- 
perate effort  to  throw  me,  when  his  foot  slipping  in 
the  blood,  that  had  trickled  on  the  deck  from  a  cut 
I  had  received  in  my  head,  we  both  staggered  and 
fell  over  the  rail  into  the  sea ! 

"  The  force  of  our  fall  caused  us  to  sink  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  beneath  the  surface  ;  and  by  the 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


193 


time  we  emerged,  the  cloud  had  passed  away 
from  the  moon,  by  the  light  of  which  I  saw,  in  one 
glance,  the  full  horror  of  my  situation.  I  shall 
never  forget  that  moment.  A  cold,  chilly  weighty 
like  a  mountain  of  ice,  seemed  pressing  on  my  heart, 
as  I  saw  the  schooner,  already  far  away,  streaking 
it  off  at  about  the  rate  of  nine  knots  through  the 
water,  and  not  a  soul  on  board  of  her  that  could 
render  me  any  assistance.  The  captain,  as  I  said 
afore,  was  sick  in  his  birth — too  sick  and  weak  even 
to  move  without  help  ;  and  the  boy— poor  Ned — 
you  know,  was  tied  up  to  the  main-rigging ;  and  I 
fancied  I  could  hear  his  shrieks  above  the  dashing 
of  the  waves  around  me,  and  the  humming  sound 
that  the  water  had  left  in  my  ears.  There  we 
were,  Jim  and  me,  in  the  wide,  wide  ocean,  without 
so  much  as  a  plank  to  cling  to ;  but  clinging  to 
each  other,  and  firmly  locked  together  in  the  gripe 
of  bloody-minded  hate.  Jim's  rage  did  not  seem  at 
all  abated  by  the  desperate  danger  we  were  in. 
Our  fall  had  caused  him  involuntarily  to  relax  the 
hold  of  one  of  his  hands ;  but  as  we  rose  again 
above  the  water,  he  made  a  grab  at  my  throat, 
which  he  grasped  so  tightly,  that  his  fingers  seemed 
to  meet  around  my  wind-pipe.  With  his  left  hand 
he  took  me  by  the  hair,  and  bent  my  head  back- 
ward, till  I  heard  something  inside  crack,  and  I  fully 
believed  he  had  broke  my  neck.  I  felt  my 
eyes  swell  out  from  their  sockets  ;  the  moon,  which 


194  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


was  right  above  me,  seemed  going  round  and  round ; 
the  air  became  of  a  dusky  reddish  hue — then  dark- 
er— darker — and  down  again  we  sunk.  When  we 
rose,  Jim's  right  hand  was  no  longer  on  my  throat, 
and  I  could  breathe  again,  though  each  breath  was 
attended  with  a  terrible  feeling  of  soreness,  as  if  the 
blood  was  bubbling  through  the  holes  that  his  fin- 
ger nails  had  torn  clean  through  the  flesh,  as  it 
seemed.  I  could  not  see  at  first ;  but  a  dim  percep- 
tion of  the  sky  and  moon  slowly  returned  to  me — 
then  a  streak  of  lightning  seemed  to  flash  across  the 
heavens — was  it  lightning  ?— I  cast  another  glance 
up — no,  it  was  Jim's  sheath-knife  that  flashed  above 
my  head,  and  was  now  descending  directly  towards 
my  heart !  With  the  quickness  of  thought  I  raised 
my  arm  to  ward  off  the  blow,  and  heaven  seemed 
all  at  once  to  renew  my  strength  and  courage.  I 
caught  Jim's  wrist,  and  stopped  it  just  as  the  point 
of  the  blade  grazed  my  flesh,  A  desperate  struggle 
ensued.  His  eyes  glared  like  balls  of  fire,  and 
there  was  a  large  circle  around  them  as  black  as 
our  bends  ;  his  mouth  foamed,  and  his  tongue  lolled 
away  out  like  a  dog's.  Once  more  he  raised  the 
knife,  in  spite  of  the  gripe  I  had  around  his  wrist — 
it  descended ! — with  a  sudden  effort  of  desperate 
strength  and  resolution,  I  seized  the^naked  blade, 
clinging  to  it,  although  it  cut  almost  through  my 
hand,  and,  with  an  unexpected  sleight,  turning  its 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


195 


direction,  it  entered  his  own  side,  between  two  of 
the  left  ribs,  and  penetrated  to  his  heart ! 

"  As  the  cold  steel  sunk  into  his  flesh,  Jim  sent 
up  a  horrid  yell,  so  fierce  and  wild,  that  the  unearth- 
ly sound  seems  ringing  in  my  ears  this  very  mo- 
ment.   If  his  countenance  was  ghastly  before,  it 
now  assumed  the  expression  of  a  fiend ;  his  cheeks 
turned  of  a  purple  colur  ;  his  teeth  were  firmly 
clenched,  and  blood  flowed  profusely  from  his  lips, 
which  he  had  bitten  almost  in  two  in  the  terrible 
agony  of  his  demoniac  passion.    With  the  strength 
of  expiring  frenzy,  he  seized  me  once  more  round 
the  throat,  as  if  determined  to  drag  me  down  with 
him  to  the  bottom  :  in  vain  1  strove  to  loosen  this 
death  grapple  ;  the  ends  of  his  fingers  were  com- 
pletely buried  in  my  flesh,  and  his  joints,  as  I  tried 
to  move  his  hands,  were  as  inflexible  and  tough  as 
steel.    It  was  with  difficulty  I  could  breathe.  All 
the  blood  in  my  body  seemed  collected  in  my  head, 
which  was  overfull  to  bursting.    The  sky  above 
me  began  to  look  as  if  all  on  fire,  and  danced  round 
and  round,  like  a  dog- vane  in  a  whirlwind.  All 
this  while,  Jim's  steady,  fiendlike  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  me,  with  a  dusky,  lurid  glow,  like  that  of  coals 
in  a  furnace  ;  but  their  glare  kept  slowly  growing 
duller  and  duller,  like  that  of  coals  going  out — and 
at  last  the  balls  rolled  entirely  up,  till  nothing  but 
the  thick,  bloodshot  whites  were  visible  ;  his  face 
turned  almost  black ;  blood  started  from  his  nostrils ; 
N 


196  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


his  head  dropped  back,  and  without  a  groan  he  sunk 
to  rise  no  more  !  For  some  time,  not  even  death 
unloosed  his  convulsive  grasp,  and  down  we  went 
together,  the  corpse  and  me — down,  down,  down, — 
I  franticly  struggling  and  striving  to  tear  off  his  stiff 
dead  ringers  from  my  throat,  for  which  my  strength, 
now  almost  spent,  seemed  utterly  insufficient. 

"  How  long  I  remained  in  this  situation  I  cannot 
tell,  for  the  horrors  of  the  fate  which  now  seemed 
certain — as  the  living  and  the  dead  were  sinking 
thus  together,  locked  in  an  inseparable  grasp  of 
hate — were  too  much  for  my  senses  to  sustain.  I 
have  a  dim  recollection  of  trying  to  cry  out ;  of  the 
bubbling  of  the  water  as  it  rushed  into  my  throat ; 
then  of  a  feeling  of  having  been  thrown  from  a 
great  height  on  a  rocky  shore,  to  which,  as  I  lay 
there  sprawling  and  mashed,  I  involuntarily  clung, 
that  the  waves,  which  seemed  to  wash  up  against 
me,  might  not  bear  me  into  the  sea.  After  this  all 
is  a  blank  in  my  memory,  till  I  returned  to  my  sen- 
ses. When  I  first  opened  my  eyes,  I  could  not  help 
fancying  myself  in  another  world ;  a  tumultuous 
roaring  sound,  which  I  did  not  immediately  distin- 
guish to  be  that  of  the  waves,  was  in  my  ears,  and 
the  darkness  was  so  deep  that  I  could  not  discern 
my  hand,  as  I  feebly  raised  one  to  my  face.  A 
faint  recollection  of  the  occurrences  of  the  night 
then  slowly  began  to  return,  which  I  believe  was 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


197 


first  prompted  by  the  soreness  of  my  throat,  of 
which  every  breath  made  me  sensible.  At  length 
I  became  aware  that  I  was  still  in  the  water,  and 
that  I  had  been  clinging  to  some  floating  object 
which  Providence  had  caused  to  drift  in  my  way. 
I  could  not  tell  what  it  was,  but  it  felt  like  a  box 
or  coop.  I  looked  up  :  the  moon  of  course  had 
gone  down,  and  not  a  star  shed  its  twinkling  beam 
through  the  deep  blackness  of  the  hour.  I  turned 
my]  eyes  all  round  the  horizon  ;  and  my  heart 
fluttered  with  an  indescribable  sensation,  when  I  fan- 
cied I  could  perceive  a  very  dim  streak  of  light  in 
one  part  of  it,  as  if  the  day  was  just  beginning 
to  dawn.  My  eyes  became  riveted  to  this  spot ; 
the  streak  grew  wider  and  longer;  in  a  little 
while  (but  it  seemed  a  long  while  then)  other  streaks 

variegated  the  heaven,  and  But  I  am  growing 

tedious.  Day  came  at  last;  when,  judge  my  joy 
and  astonishment  at  seeing  the  dear  little  Nancy 
herself,  lying,  like  a  duck  on  the  water,  at  a  distance 
of  not  more  than  two  cables'  length  from  me  !  I 
looked  to  her  main  rigging — Ned  was  no  longer 
there.  Her  sails  were  down  ;  and  the  truth  flash- 
ed at  once  upon  my  mind.  I  strove  to  shout,  but  I 
was  too  weak — my  voice  had  left  me.  I  laughed — 
like  a  very  idiot  I  laughed,  till  I  became  completely 
exhausted  ;  and  then  I  wept  and  sobbed  like  a  child. 
Once  more  I  strove  to  shout ;  but  a  sort  of  hoarse 
whisper  was  the  only  sound  that  I  could  utter.  A 


198  A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 

fear  now  chilled  my  heart  that,  near  as  I  was  to 
succour,  I  might  yet  be  left  to  perish  miserably  in 
the  ocean.  I  kept  my  eyes  riveted  on  the  schooner, 
and  tried  to  strike  out  with  my  feet  so  as  to  ap- 
proach closer  to  her :  but  my  limbs  were  too  weak 
and  faint,  and  refused  to  make  the  effort.  For  a 
long  time  there  was  no  stir  aboard  the  Nancy  ;  but 
at  last  I  saw  Ned  come  on  deck,  as  if  from  the  cabin, 
and  leaning  his  head  on  the  taffarel,  he  appeared 
to  be  weeping  bitterly.  What  would  I  have  not 
given  to  have  been  able  to  sing  out,  as  that  fellow 
on  the  lee  cat-head  is  now  singing  out  ay-ay,  in 
answer  to  the  officer  of  the  deck's  hail.  If  I  could 
raise  my  voice,  I  was  sure  that  Ned  would  hear 
me,  and  come  immediately  to  my  relief.  I  tried — ■ 
and  could  not.  But  the  poor  boy  raised  his  head 
and  seemed  looking  earnestly  around  the  horizon. 
My  hopes  revived.  At  last,  after  looking  all 
round  the  horizon,  and  overlooking  me,  whom  he 
little  thought  so  close  aboard  of  him,  he  turned 
away,  and  walked  forward  to  the  forecastle.  My 
heart  dropped  down  within  me,  as  heavy  as  a  thirty 
pound  deep  sea-lead,  and  I  gave  all  over  for  lost. 
With  a  frantic  effort  of  despair,  my  agonized  feel- 
ings burst  out  into  a  terrible  yell,  the  loudness 
of  which  startled  myself.  It  reached  the  ears  of 
Ned,  He  looked  up — gazed  all  around  again— 
ran  aft,  and  got  the  spy-glass  from  the  companion 
way — but  before  he  raised  it  to  his  eye,  he  caught 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP*  199 

sight  of  me !  He  took  off  his  tarpaulin,  and  waved 
it  rapidly  round  his  head,  to  let  me  know  that  he 
had  seen  me — and  then,  in  the  wild  joy  of  his  feel- 
ings, he  skimmed  it  far  overboard  into  the  sea. 

"  I  need  not  spin  this  yarn  any  longer,  topmates," 
said  Jack,  when  he  had  arrived  at  this  part  of  his 
story,  "  for  you  can  all  guess  the  rest  as  well  as  I 
can  tell  it.  It  wasn't  long,  you  may  be  sure,  before 
little  Ned  lowered  away  the  stern-boat,  and  jumping 
from  the  tafFarel  into  it,  with  a  rashness  that  liked 
to  have  cost  him  his  neck,  sculled  her  to  me.  It 
was  with  some  difficulty  that  he  got  me  into  the 
boat,  and  when  we  came  alongside,  he  found  it 
utterly  impossible  to  get  me  aboard,  till  he  happened 
to  think  of  the  Captain's  locker,  and  brought  me  a 
glass  of  clear  brandy,  which  he  poured  down  my 
throat.  When  was  it  the  case  that  an  allowance 
of  grog  didn't  warm  the  heart  of  man,  and  give  him 
fresh  strength  and  courage,  however  weak  and  spir- 
itless ?  It  was  so  with  me  :  that  sup  of  brandy  re- 
vived me,  and  with  the  assistance  o  f  Ned  I  got  on 
board.  For  several  days  I  was  unable  to  stir  out  of  my 
bunk ;  and  during  all  that  time,  as  good  luck  would 
have  it,  the  wind  continued  steady  and  the  weather 
pleasant.  As  soon  as  I  was  able  to  listen,  Ned  told 
me  what  had]  happened  after  I  fell  overboard. 
The  captain,  it  seemed,  had  tried  to  rise  from  his 
birth,  and  come  on  deck  to  seperate  us ;  but  the 
effort  had  been  too  much  for  him,  and  he  had 


200 


ATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP. 


fallen  back  on  the  floor  and  expired.  Ned.  by  his 
violent  struggles  to  get  loose  from  the  rigging,  and 
by  the  use  to  which  he  had  put  his  teeth,  at  last 
succeeded  in  slacking  up  the  knot  of  one  of  the 
seizings,  and,  as  soon  as  he  extricated  one  hand, 
found  little  difficulty  in  casting  on  the  line  from 
other  wrist  and  from  his  ankles.  "With  a  presence 
of  mind  not  to  be  expected  from  him,  he  immediate- 
ly jumped  to  the  tiller,  and  put  it  hard  down,  luffing 
Nancy  right  up  into  the  wind's  eye ;  he  then  sprang 
forward,  letting  go,  as  he  ran,  the  main,  fore,  and 
jib  haliards.  thus  leaving  the  little  schooner  as  quiet 
as  a  log  on  the  water,  except  what  she  might  drift. 
A  shift  of  wind  took  place  in  the  course  of  the  night, 
which  had  the  effect  to  set  her  back  towards  where  I 
was  unconsciously  drirting,  on  a  coop,  which  Ned 
luckily  threw  overboard  immediately  on  getting  loose 
from  the  main-rigging.  6  was  a  long  time  before  my 
hand  got  perfectly  well :  and  I  don't  know  what  we 
should  have  done,  if  we  hadn't  fell  in  with  a  Liver- 
pool trader,  which,  on  learning  our  situation,  spared 
us  one  of  her  crew,  by  whose  assistance  we  were 
enabled  to  work  our  schooner,  and  in  due  time 
arrived  in  New-York.'' 

By  the  time  Jack  had  finished  the  above  story, 
to  which  I  have  been  able  to  do  but  halting 
justice,  the  breeze,  which  was  pretty  stiff  at  the 
beginning  of  the  watch,  had  gradually  died  away; 
and  further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  an 


A  WATCH  IN  THE  MAIN-TOP.  201 

order  from  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  get  ready  to  set 
fore  and  main  topmast-studdingsails.  This  order  had 
hardly  been  complied  with,  when  the  sentry  reported 
eight  bells  ;  as  soon  as  which  were  struck,  the  relief 
was  called ;  and  when  I  saw  the  head  of  the  mid- 
shipman, who  was  to  take  my  place,  above  the  rim 
of  the  top,  I  seized  hold  of  a  backstay,  and,  sliding 
down,  in  less  than  five  minutes  was  fast  asleep  in 
my  hammock. 


THE  END. 


